N.H. Admin. Code § Fis 302.04

Current through Register No. 45, November 7, 2024

Section Fis 302.04 - Ducks, Mergansers, and Sea Ducks

(a) Pursuant to authority granted by RSA 209:6-b, and in accordance with 50 CFR Part 20, the season for taking ducks, mergansers, and sea ducks shall be as follows:

(1) The season for taking ducks, mergansers, and sea ducks in the inland zone shall open October 9 and close November 11; reopen on November 27 and close again on December 22;

(2) The season for taking ducks, mergansers, and sea ducks in the coastal zone shall open on October 3 and close on October 9; reopen on November 27 and close again on January 18;

(3) The season for taking ducks, mergansers, and sea ducks in the northern zone shall open on October 2 and close on November 30; and

(4) There shall be no open season for Harlequin ducks.

(b) The delineation of the inland, northern and coastal boundaries shall be as follows:

(1) Coastal zone - Beginning at the Maine-New Hampshire line in Rollinsford, that portion of the state of New Hampshire east of a boundary formed by state highway 4, west to the city of Dover, south to the intersection of state highway 108, south along state highway 108 through Madbury, Durham and New Market to the junction of state highway 85 in Newfields, south to state highway 101 in Exeter, east to Interstate 95 (New Hampshire Turnpike) in Hampton, and south on Interstate 95 to the Massachusetts border;

(2) Northern zone - That area of the state east of the Connecticut River zone and north of the inland zone beginning at the junction of route 10 and route 25A in Orford, east on route 25A to route 25 in Wentworth, southeast on route 25 to exit 26 of route I-93 in Plymouth, south on route I-93 to route 3 at exit 24 of route I-93 in Ashland, northeast on route 3 to route 113 in Holderness, north on route 113 to route 113-A in Sandwich, north on route 113-A to route 113 in Tamworth, east on route 113 to route 16 in Chocorua, north on route 16 to route 302 in Conway, east on route 302 to the ME-NH border; and

(3) Inland zone - The remaining portion of the state including the Connecticut river zone as specified in RSA 209:5-a.

(c) Daily shooting or falconry hours shall begin at one-half hour before sunrise and end at sunset.

(d) Taking of ducks in the inland, northern and coastal zone shall be limited to a daily bag of 6, and a possession limit of 18. Taking of sea ducks shall be limited to a daily bag limit of 4 and a possession limit of 12. Taking of mergansers shall be limited to a daily bag of 5, and a possession limit of 15. The falconry daily bag limit shall not exceed 3 migratory game birds in the aggregate.

(e) The species of ducks named below shall be subject to the following restricted bag limits, and shall be included as part of the daily bag limit specified in paragraph (d):

(1) Taking of black ducks statewide shall be limited to a daily bag of 2 and a possession limit of 6;

(2) Taking of wood ducks statewide shall be limited to a daily bag of 3 and a possession limit of 9;

(3) Taking of redheads statewide shall be limited to a daily bag of 2 and a possession limit of 6;

(4) Taking of mallards statewide shall be limited to a daily bag of 4 (only 2 of which may be a hen), and a possession limit of 12 (only 6 of which may be hens);

(5) Taking of pintails statewide shall be limited to a daily bag of 1, and a possession limit of 3;

(6) Taking of scaup statewide shall be limited to a daily bag of 1 and a possession limit of 3;

(7) Taking of scoter statewide shall be limited to a daily bag limit of 3 and a possession limit of 9;

(8) Taking of eiders statewide shall be limited to a daily bag limit of 3 (only 1 of which may be a hen) and a possession limit of 9;

(9) Taking of long-tailed ducks statewide shall be limited to a daily bag limit of 3 and a possession limit of 9; and

(10) Taking of canvasbacks statewide shall be limited to a daily bag of 2 and a possession limit of 6.

(f) In addition to the regular migratory bird season, there shall be a special extended falconry season on ducks, mergansers, and American coots as follows:

(1) The inland zone season extension shall open on November 12 and shall close on November 26, reopen on December 23 and close again January 19;

(2) The coastal zone season extension shall open on January 27 and close on March 10;

(3) The northern zone season shall open on December 1 and shall close on January 12; and

(4) The daily bag and possession limits for falconry are specified in Fis 302.04.

(g) Non-toxic shot shall be required statewide for the taking of ducks and mergansers. For the purposes of this section "nontoxic shot" means, as it does in 50 CFR 20, any shot type that does not cause sickness and death when ingested by migratory birds as determined under 50 CFR 20 . The only shot currently approved by the Director, US Fish and Wildlife Service, are steel shot, bismuth-tin shot, tungsten-iron shot, tungsten-polymer shot, tungsten-matrix shot, tungsten-nickel-iron shot, tungsten-bronze shot, tungsten-tin-bismuth shot, tungsten-tin-iron-nickel shot, tungsten-iron-copper-nickel shot, tungsten-tin-iron shot, and tungsten-iron-polymer shot.

N.H. Admin. Code § Fis 302.04

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Amended byVolume XXXIV Number 37, Filed September 11, 2014, Proposed by #10658, Effective 8/16/2014, Expires Exempt.

Amended by Volume XXXV Number 36, Filed September 10, 2015, Proposed by #10911, Effective 8/22/2015.

Amended by Volume XXXVI Number 19, Filed May 12, 2016, Proposed by #11072, Effective 4/14/2016.

Amended by Volume XXXVII Number 19, Filed May 11, 2017, Proposed by #12159, Effective 4/14/2017.

Amended by Volume XXXVIII Number 19, Filed May 10, 2018, Proposed by #12514, Effective 4/14/2018.

Amended by Volume XXXIX Number 19, Filed May 9, 2019, Proposed by #12759, Effective 4/16/2019

Amended by Volume XLI Number 19, Filed May 13, 2021, Proposed by #13197 , Effective 4/24/2021.

Amended by Volume XLII Number 19, Filed May 12, 2022, Proposed by #13376, Effective 4/14/2022,

Amended by Number 19, Filed May 11, 2023, Proposed by #13609, Effective 4/15/2023.

Amended by Number 19, Filed May 9, 2024, Proposed by #13925, Effective 4/16/2024, EXEMPT.