Mississippi duck seasons announced

Liberal framework allows maximum opportunity

Mississippi’s Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks has approved a plan that would allow duck hunters maximum opportunity during the 2017-18 waterfowl seasons.

The action followed an announcement by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that established liberal frameworks for the year.

“Waterfowl breeding populations in 2016 remained high, which will again provide states the opportunity to select a liberal hunting season of 60 days with a six-duck daily bag limit,” said Houston Havens, Waterfowl Program Coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks.

Mississippi’s proposed seasons include:

Ducks, mergansers and coots: Nov. 24-26; Dec. 1-3; and, Dec. 6-Jan. 28.

Geese (Canada, white-fronted, snow, blue, Ross’s, and brant): Nov. 10-26; Dec. 1-3 and Dec. 6-Jan. 28.

Youth waterfowl: Nov. 18 and Feb. 3.

Light goose conservation order: Oct. 1-Nov. 9; Jan. 29-Feb. 2; and Feb. 4-March 31.

The bag limits for the above seasons include:

Ducks: The daily bag limit will a total of six ducks, including no more than four mallards (no more than two of which may be females), three wood ducks, three scaup, two redheads, two canvasbacks, two black ducks, one pintail, and one mottled duck.

Mergansers: The daily bag limit will be a total of five mergansers, only two of which may be hooded mergansers.

Coots: The daily bag limit is 15.

Canada geese: The daily bag limit is three.

Snow, blue, and Ross’s: The daily bag limit is 20.

White-fronted: The daily bag limit is three.

Brant: The daily bag limit is one.

Light goose conservation season: There is no limit.

Possession limits: The possession limit is three times the daily bag limit for ducks, mergansers, coots, and Canada, white-fronted and Brant geese. There is no possession limit on light geese (snow, blue and Ross’s).