1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,760 Speaker 1: The daily bag limits for the twenty twenty four waterfowl 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:05,440 Speaker 1: hunting season. They've been revealed and are going to see 3 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:09,520 Speaker 1: the maximum allowable level remain unchanged for the third year 4 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: in a row. When hunting commences in September, Recreational waterfowl 5 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:18,000 Speaker 1: hunters will be able to bag seven magpie geese and 6 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: ten ducks per person per day. Joining us on the 7 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 1: line is Bart Irwin from the NT Field and Game. 8 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:27,920 Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Bart. 9 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. Thanks very much for having me on. 10 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 1: Well, lovely to have you on the show. But Hunter's 11 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:34,600 Speaker 1: happy with the bag limits this year. 12 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 2: Oh, most certainly. It's a great outcome, and we thank 13 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,240 Speaker 2: Minister Warden for consulting with us, listening to hunters and 14 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 2: reacting with sustainable bag when it's the normal duration of 15 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 2: the six day weeks. So it was good to see 16 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 2: her out of there. Poly's shoot Yeah, shootout and yeah, 17 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 2: we discuss things there and she won. She won the ladies' event, 18 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 2: so she might join me out in the swamp one day. 19 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:06,679 Speaker 1: That would be good. I'd like to see that. 20 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 2: Now. 21 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: Tell me in terms of those numbers, like they've obviously 22 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:13,679 Speaker 1: carried on from last season's, well, were they good like 23 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: did it work out for last season? 24 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 2: Look, I'm critical, I'm very critical of these survey numbers. 25 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:29,000 Speaker 2: They don't seem to be following the good wet seasons 26 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 2: that we've had in recent years, consecutive good wet seasons, 27 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 2: and they don't seem to be able to find the 28 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 2: birds at the levels that they once could when when 29 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:46,759 Speaker 2: we were having good wet seasons back in the two 30 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 2: thousands and the early two thousands, in the late nineteen nineties, 31 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 2: we've got forty years of data. They've been running that 32 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:59,000 Speaker 2: flowing these area surveys for forty years now. The one 33 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 2: thing that it shows with I think they said it 34 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 2: is one point three three million this year, which is 35 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 2: up on about up about seven hundred thousand birds, and 36 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 2: there's seventy thousand nests. Now, those seventy thousand nests will 37 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 2: produce three hundred and fifteen thousand new geese to adulthood 38 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 2: full maturity. And this has been going on for years, 39 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 2: but the population doesn't seem to be going up and 40 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 2: its hunters only take twenty to forty thousand, so it's 41 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:36,200 Speaker 2: not as if hunting has had any detrimental effect. But 42 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 2: I think now they can see that there is an 43 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 2: abundance of geese, it's sustainable. Now's the time to switch 44 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 2: the science to an aerial weed survey. Over all our 45 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 2: wetland areas primarily there for this exercise using the weeds branch, 46 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:58,640 Speaker 2: whether they do it by air, whether they do it 47 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 2: by drone, where they do it by satellite, but transfer 48 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 2: that science to find out if the habitat is capable 49 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 2: of supporting the numbers of geese that we used to have, 50 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 2: which was in excess of three point three to four 51 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 2: million geese. This is really the issue. Doing the same 52 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 2: thing over and over proves the same thing, but it 53 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 2: doesn't It doesn't really monitor the weid intrusion that affects 54 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:34,519 Speaker 2: habitat because it overcomes the wild rice, the eliot karis, 55 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 2: which is the bulb that seed. And by doing this 56 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 2: you won't just be targeting magpoie geese in your science. 57 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:44,680 Speaker 2: You'll be looking after the whole ecology that that depends 58 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 2: or is support or supports wetland, wetland species, flora and fauna. 59 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 1: Yeah right, so it sounds like you guys are keen to, 60 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: you know, to have a bit further work done to 61 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: you know, to maybe change those numbers down the track. 62 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 2: Well, yeah, I think this type of science would really help. 63 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 2: Like we nearly got a thing out of the line. 64 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:15,320 Speaker 2: We were going to take samples of a little bit 65 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 2: of tongue sample off hunted geese and then have that 66 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 2: DNA tested along with egg samples within the hunting regions 67 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:32,839 Speaker 2: or sorry, within the breeding regions, because from that you 68 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:37,680 Speaker 2: can locate where birds come from. Now we're going to 69 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:41,839 Speaker 2: get federal funding. Nigel Scallion was helping filling game with it, 70 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:48,600 Speaker 2: so it was Professor Graham Webb the CDU and it 71 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 2: got stalled for god knows what reasons. But this would 72 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 2: have given us some really interesting science that would tell 73 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 2: us which flocks come to Darwin, is that the daily 74 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:02,599 Speaker 2: a flock, is that the Kakadoo flock is at the 75 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 2: Mary River flock that come to the hunting regions around Darwen. 76 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 2: But that science fell over. I think I think it 77 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 2: had something to do with the NLC didn't see it 78 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:16,159 Speaker 2: as a priority. That's fair, but they were going to 79 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 2: get a lot of the work the Indigenous Ranger the program. 80 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 2: But these are the types of this is a new 81 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:30,400 Speaker 2: different science to to add another layer to the same 82 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:34,040 Speaker 2: survey that for forty years has told us we've got 83 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:35,000 Speaker 2: enough geese. 84 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 1: But we are going to have to get ready to 85 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:39,560 Speaker 1: wrap up. Mate, tell us look for those out there 86 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: listening this morning. When does the hunting season begin? 87 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 2: It begins? I think it's so. I think they said 88 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 2: it's twenty fifth, twenty five. I haven't seen any of 89 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:52,359 Speaker 2: the flyers yet, but I imagine it will go to 90 00:05:52,480 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 2: the first Monday after after New Year's Day. That's generally 91 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:04,719 Speaker 2: the situation, and that's on the hunting reserves and everywhere 92 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:09,799 Speaker 2: else but in the private land it will open mid August. 93 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 2: But I haven't seen the pressure release yet or looked 94 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 2: up at all on Parks and Wildlife yesterday, but they 95 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:17,800 Speaker 2: still had last year's details. 96 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:19,920 Speaker 1: Well, let us know, let us know how it all 97 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:23,359 Speaker 1: goes once things get underway. Bart Irwin. Always good to 98 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:25,159 Speaker 1: catch up with you, mate. Thank you so much for 99 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: having a chat with us this morning. 100 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 2: Thank you Katie for keeping goose hunting interesting, no. 101 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: Worries at all. Thanks mate, We'll talk to you soon.