Approximately 488,000 ducks were harvested in Victoria last year, according to the official results from the Victorian Game Management Authority (GMA)’s scientifically robust research, which was released late last week.
The Estimate of Duck and Stubble Quail Harvest in Victoria for 2025 report also shows there were 9950 active duck hunters in the state during the 2025 season, each harvesting an average of 49 ducks across a cumulative 108,600 hunting days; an average of 10.9 days each.
Pacific black duck was the most commonly harvested species, representing 36% of the total, followed closely by grey teal at 29% and then Australian wood ducks at 24%.
The remaining harvest numbers were made up by chestnut teal ducks at 5%, pink-eared ducks at 3%, and mountain ducks at 2%, with the remaining 1% made up of hardhead ducks.
By comparison, stubble quail hunting numbers were down considerably, with only 48,000 birds harvested – 72% lower than the average number of 170,000 reported in previous surveys.
Stubble quail hunters took an average of 22.8 birds each, hunting for an average of 3.8 days each over the season.
The greatest number of ducks were harvested between 24 March and 16 April, when about 107,800 fowl were taken – about a fifth of the total for the entire season.
The largest number of stubble quail were harvested between 21 April and 4 May, with a total of 149.
There were 20,828 hunters licensed to hunt duck and stubble quail in Victoria during the 2025 season, of whom only 10% pursued stubble quail.
The areas around Sale, Boort, Kerang, Shepparton and Horsham were the most popular with duck hunters, both in terms of days hunted and ducks harvested, while stubble quail hunters preferring Geelong, Horsham, Echuca, Ararat and Stratford.
About 3800 licensed hunters were surveyed on behalf of GMA during the 2025 duck and quail season.
A fully copy of the report is available here: https://www.gma.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1185670/Estimates-of-gamebird-harvest-2025-Final-report-Feb-2026.pdf
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