Duck Hunting FAQs
Hunting & Fishing in Massachusetts Jack Charters, LLC
Information provided by The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. www.mass.gov.
Q. What are the requirements for hunters hunting ducks and geese?
Q. Why does waterfowl hunting end at sunset?
Q. Are goldeneyes and buffleheads considered "sea ducks"?
Q. I shot a duck and when I breasted the bird out, the breast muscles were full of little white things. What are they? Is it safe to eat?
Q. Why don't you increase the bag limit on black ducks? I see more and more every year.
Q. Why are the waterfowl abstracts so late in getting to the town clerks and other license vendor locations?
The Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board then holds a public hearing (usually at the end of August) after which the date selections must be sent to a printer to have the abstracts printed and then distributed. Immediately, after the public hearing, , season dates and bag limits are available from the various MassWildlife offices and are also posted in the Regulations and Waterfowl Hunting pages.
Q. Why are we not allowed to hunt Canada geese during the late season in the Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay parts of the coast waterfowl zone? There are plenty of geese.
One study found that over 70% of migrant geese from Maritime Canada now winter on Long Island, NY and along the southern New England coast line. Neck collar observations indicated that over 40% of the Canada geese now wintering along Massachusetts’ southern coast are migrant geese, twice as many as allowed for a late resident goose season. You are seeing more Canada geese because more migrant birds are wintering in the southern Coastal waterfowl hunting zone.
Q. Do I need to purchase a stamp before I hunt woodcock?