Harvest Regulations

Waterfowl regulations in California depend on region, date,  and species. There are five zones for waterfowl harvest and the dates that people are able to hunt on these grounds depends on if it is a duck or a goose. Hunting dates are typically between October and January with a bag limit of typically 6-8. The contents of the harvest varies, however. For instance, in the Northeastern zone (in green on the map) has a bag limit of 8 geese per day. The limits are there may be no more than 6 white geese or 6 dark geese (only 2 large Canada geese) and they are able to have in possession (meaning in the car or something similar) 16 geese. This link up top (the feather) shows the various types of harvest regulations for California in the zones shown below. However, there are special circumstances where their are more intensive species specific regulations than just saying "6 dark geese" which are important to pay attention to. For instance, the Black Brant (a dark goose) has a specific season. This season in is certain regions and usually begins in November. The take limit is typically 2/day and hunters are about to have 4 in possession. It is notable to state that hunting regulations are created through an adaptive management technique. If there is a decline in population, then the harvest regulations will be shifted. Geese and ducks that are able to be hunted in California are: 

1. Canada Geese
2. White-fronted Geese
3. Mallard
4. Northern Pintail
5. Redhead
6. Canvasbacks 
7. Greater Scaup
8. Lesser Scaup
9. "Dark Geese"
10. "Light Geese"
11. Brant Goose
12. "Mexican-like" Ducks