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Originally Posted by MarshRat89
I simply don't trust the data. I think there are multiple factors that show higher harvest rates early. Uneducated birds and fresh brush on blinds just to name a couple. More people are eager to get out and hunt early. If I'm not mistaken the data you mention is taking from surveys on public land only.
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Not true. The harvest data I have presented is from all over the state. HUNTERS are randomly selected to participate, not areas, so those data account for all kill on public and private land. It doesn't matter how birds are killed or whether people would kill more or less birds early or later if they did something different ..... it is simply a record of how many birds were killed when and where by selected hunters.
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Originally Posted by MarshRat89
No disrespect to him or the department but I don't think the harvest data is sound. I think there is more work to be done.
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Please explain how they are un-sound? More importantly, tell us where there is more, better, more representative data from which decisions on season dates can be made at the zone scale.
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Originally Posted by MarshRat89
Also I don't think all 213 people who sent complaints are face painters. I've heard some valid arguments from guys that know what they are doing and have been doing it a long time. The more I think about it I really don't think 7 days will be that much of a difference.
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I agree on both points. I read and responded to every single e-mail and phone call. Most of the respondents were experienced duck hunters, many of them reported decades of hunting this club or that, and some of them provided their own harvest records from the last few years as justification for their season-date choice.
I expected to see clear separation of rice-field vs marsh hunters in SW LA, but it wasn't clear at all. I expected to see clear separation between SE vs SW marsh hunters, but that wasn't clear either. I was surprised to see the number of respondents from Hackberry, Grand Chenier, Holly Beach, Sabine NWR, and Creole wanting a later season in the Coastal Zone. From those favoring the proposed dates, as many came from SE LA as SW LA.