Daily Bag Limit/Possession Limit?

[bobcat]

MP123,  All it does (if interpreted that way) is to prevent someone who is camping or otherwise staying away from home while hunting, in shooting more than 14 ducks. If you go on a 7 day hunt, you basically can only get two ducks per day. (on average)

It needs some clarification, because you're right- it doesn't seem right when the guy who hunts from home basically does not have to follow a possession limit but the guy who hunts away from home DOES.  

[MP123]

Well now that you mention it, I guess you could look at it that it allows the guy hunting away from home to have 14 ducks rather than only the 7 that the bag limit would allow.  It still seems a little hard to enforce though.

Not that I'm going to be carrying around 14 ducks anytime soon! 

[xd2005]

MP123,  All it does (if interpreted that way) is to prevent someone who is camping or otherwise staying away from home while hunting, in shooting more than 14 ducks. If you go on a 7 day hunt, you basically can only get two ducks per day. (on average)

It needs some clarification, because you're right- it doesn't seem right when the guy who hunts from home basically does not have to follow a possession limit but the guy who hunts away from home DOES.  

Just take a walk with your birds each day to the post office and you'll be good   

[Fishnclifff]

Okay here is the latest from the horses  uhhh mouth as it were:::::::

Mr. Pepper,

In your e-mail you have addressed all the appropriate WAC’s and Statutes that pertain to limits of waterfowl including daily and possession.  To clarify the total number of ducks a person can harvest in one day is seven ducks following the species specific limits.  The total number of ducks an individual can possess is 14 ducks following the species specific limits.  What this means that if you go out hunting two days in a row and harvest your limit each day you will have reached your total possession limit.  If those 14 ducks are just kept you would not be able to legally hunt a third day since you would be exceeding your possession limit unless you ate or used some of your ducks first.  If you have any other questions let me know.

 

Sergeant Carl Klein

Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator

WDFW Enforcement Program

W-21

Cell         (360) 790-8006

Office    (360) 902-2346

[xd2005]

LOL...perfect, two completely opposite responses, both from WDFW.

[MP123]

Well, this is as clear as mud now...

Maybe no one knows what a possession limit is! 

[Fishnclifff]

Okay here is my response back to him and his response back to me. It seems if we follow the daily limit of 7, and have no more than 2 limits in the field, we are good. Thats the only way they are going to check us, it seems.


Thank you for your information.
A lot of hunters believe the state possession rule is too vague. There is no verbage as to where you can be in possession of 14 ducks, except in the fed field possession rule.

The possession rule that you stated, puts a whole lot of hunters in a bad place. They hunt all year and save the meat from all their ducks, to be made into, as we like to call it, duckaroni.
If we were to strictly adhere to the rule verb-age you quoted, there would be no more duckaroni being processed by the local butcher shops, and
law abiding, or so we thought we were, hunters would be setting ourselves up for some serious state and fed infractions, just by  saving our meat to be processed later.
 There should be  a way to change the verb-age to allow for birds that are prepared for processing, IE butchering, etc, are no longer counted in the possession limit. The same as salmon an upland game birds. It seems to be, that after you butcher a duck or goose and separate the meat from the bone, and discard the rest of the bird, it ceases to be a duck.
The fed rule states possession ends only if the birds are given away as gifts or sent to a taxidermist. Their verb-age does not mention possession ends only after consumption. That seems to be an opinion.

Thank you
Clifford Pepper


Mr. Pepper,

 

Here is a clipping from the regulation pamphlet that states the possession limit is 14 ducks ( it is the chart showing limits in the  front of the book).  There are also possession limits for all species including game birds and fish.  The laws were written this way to make the enforcement of limits possible and ensure that our wildlife resources are used in a sustainable manner.  The enforcement of possession limits usually only comes in during the investigation of egregious violations.  If you have further questions or concerns let me know.

[MP123]

It sounds almost like 14 is the limit for possession anywhere including home but they don't really enforce it much?

I agree that at some point a duck ceases to be a duck.  I mean if I had one half of a Mallard breast and one half of a Widgeon breast in my freezer do I have possession of one whole duck?, two ducks?, or no ducks?  What if I make all 14 in to Duckeroni and then eat all except one piece.  Now how many do I have in possesion?  A guy could go crazy with this stuff 

[sakoshooter]

Fishncliff,
I appreciate you taking the time to TRY to get this cleared up.
Your answer did say that if you eat or 'did something with it', then you could hunt again. I'd assume that 'did something with it' meant that if it was processed(cleaned and in your freezer)that you 'did something with it'.

In another post on here, the hunter stated he'd killed 488 ducks this year. There is no way an average human is going to consume that many ducks plus the geese he didn't list in any given duck season.

Also, if the intent was to only allow the taking of 14 ducks, I'd have to assume that enforcement would concentrate their efforts on waterfowl guides first and check their freezers knowing they harvest large numbers of ducks/geese.

My own common sense(has nothing to do with the law)tells me that the possession limit was set up strickly as a guideline with hunters in mind that make over night forays. Even then enforcement knows full well this law is almost impossible to enforce.
If I just came off the lake with a limit of ducks, stiff and cold, and threw them in the back of the truck with the 7 dead, stiff and cold ducks from yesterday and an enforcement officer pulls up, how are we going to tell the difference between yesterday's and today's birds? Can't, period. I would be legal under the possession limit law though. Will that warden ask me how many I have at home in the freezer? Doubt it. If he did and I answered him honestly, would he want to search my freezer? Doubt it.

Fishncliff, post the response you get back please. I'm printing it and putting it in my blind bag for future reference. Might be worth printing, putting in a zip-loc bag and keeping in the freezer with your meat folks.

[bobcat]

I guess what they need is a punchcard to control the number of ducks each hunter takes. They could give you the first punchard free with the purchase of the usual licenses needed for waterfowl hunting, good for whatever the possession limit is for each species. Once you fill that one up you could purchase another one for say, $20. Would be a great money maker for the state, plus it would only be fair that those who take more of the resource, pay proportionally more. I think I'll send this idea to the appropriate people at the DFW.   

[ICEMAN]

Please dont.

[6x6in6]

LOL...perfect, two completely opposite responses, both from WDFW.

No real surprise right there!

[Fishnclifff]

I guess what they need is a punchcard to control the number of ducks each hunter takes.  I think I'll send this idea to the appropriate people at the DFW.  

I will kick you in the jimmies. Ok prob not. But dont give them any more Ideas to take our money.

Fishncliff,
I appreciate you taking the time to TRY to get this cleared up.
Your answer did say that if you eat or 'did something with it', then you could hunt again. I'd assume that 'did something with it' meant that if it was processed(cleaned and in your freezer)that you 'did something with it'.

In another post on here, the hunter stated he'd killed 488 ducks this year. There is no way an average human is going to consume that many ducks plus the geese he didn't list in any given duck season.

Please note; the above answer was an opinion given by USFW as to the definition of " when possession ends"
There is no " did something with it" defined in any rule, state or fed.
They say possession ends if you
A. Gift it to someone
B. send it to a taxidermist
C. eat it.
Thats all your choices.

For the guy who shot 488 ducks. If they checked his freezer and found those ducks IN ANY FORM, he would be charged with gross poaching.

The Sgt that responded to me did not even attempt to discuss changing the definitions. I guess they want to keep this in their back pocket for enhancing a menial charge of possessing over the limit.
Don't want to kill the cash cow.

[goober]

. When I come across a pile of ducks with the breast meat ripped out and the entire rest of the bird tossed aside.... This is the law I want enforced, this is waste IMHO. How about that pile of salmon on the riverbank with their eggs yanked out?


I give up.   

Some states state specifically what parts of a bird must be taken (i.e. breast, thighs, wings), some don't. I haven't seen anything about this from WA though. Regarding deer, elk and other species, these animals are regulated by State laws only, so there isn't the confusion there is with ducks by having different interpretations from two different agencies (you have tags for each animal, you are fine).

[270Shooter]

I guess what they need is a punchcard to control the number of ducks each hunter takes. They could give you the first punchard free with the purchase of the usual licenses needed for waterfowl hunting, good for whatever the possession limit is for each species. Once you fill that one up you could purchase another one for say, $20. Would be a great money maker for the state, plus it would only be fair that those who take more of the resource, pay proportionally more. I think I'll send this idea to the appropriate people at the DFW.   

Please do not do this