2008-09 Waterfowl Hunting Seasons Established At August TWRC Meeting

PICKWICK DAM, Tenn.  — Tennessee’s 2008-09 waterfowl hunting seasons were established by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission during its August meeting at Pickwick Landing State Park on Thursday, August 21, 2008. The TWRC serves as the governing body for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

TWRC sets the state’s waterfowl seasons each year within the framework determined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Tennessee has selected the option of a 59-day duck season in the Statewide Zone for 2008-09. The Reelfoot Duck Zone will have a 60-day season.

The statewide duck season will be Nov. 28, 2008 through Jan. 25, 2009. There will be no split in the Statewide Zone. In the Reelfoot Duck Zone, the dates for 2008-09 are Nov. 15-16 and Nov.29-Jan. 25.

The youth waterfowl season will also be similar to last year with only a calendar shift. For youth ages 6-15, the Statewide Zone is Jan.31-Feb 1, 2009 while the Reelfoot Zone will be Feb. 7-8, 2009.

TWRC approved the daily bag limit of six ducks that may include no more than four mallards (no more than one female), three wood ducks, two redheads, and one black duck, pintail, and scaup. The daily bag limit of merganser is five, only two of which can be hooded mergansers.

The major changes in bag limits from last year include: the wood duck bag limit has increased from two to three ducks per day; scaup bag limits have been reduced to one per day; the hen mallard bag limit has been reduced to one per day; and canvasback season will be closed this year;
Federal frameworks for Canada goose season were extended in the Kentucky Lake Canada Goose Zone and will allow 72 days of hunting across the state. Tennessee will effectively have only two functional Canada goose zones in the Statewide Zone and the Northwest Zone.
The Statewide Zone dates for Canada goose are Oct. 4-Oct. 11 and Nov. 28-Jan. 30. The Northwest Zone dates are Nov. 15-16 and Nov. 29-Feb. 8.

Season dates and bag limits for light geese (snow, blue, Ross) are similar to last season with a shift for the calendar. The standard season will run from Nov. 24 through Feb. 8. Federal Conservations Order provisions allow the use of electronic calls and unplugged shotguns for the Feb. 9 through March 10, 2009 portion of the season.

During Wednesday’s committee meetings, the sport fishing regulations preview was presented. The TWRC instructed TWRA to open the commercial fishing proclamation at the commission’s September meeting to address commercial harvest in Watts Bar Reservoir. Sport fishing regulations are usually established during the October meeting of the TWRC.

A presentation was made Thursday morning to Dick Tillman, retired president of Kroger’s Memphis-based Delta Division, for his contributions of food and support for many TWRA events through the years.

Commission members instructed agency staff to research new guidelines for permitting shooting preserves. Possible changes include limiting the size of areas to no less than 1,000 acres for big game, to limit the species that may be taken, increasing permit fees, and restricting the establishment of future preserves. It is hopeful that these options can be addressed through proclamations or rules and regulations that the TWRC is empowered to establish. The recommendations will be discussed at a future meeting.

The TWRC’s next meeting is Sept. 17-18 at the TWRC Region II Office Building in Nashville.