Waterfowl in Australia are unique and super-reactive to climatic conditions. Recent floods have provided food and the birds have bred prolifically with multiple clutches.

Fiona Byrnes from Regional Victorians against Duck Shooting (The Weekly Times, February 8) highlighted several points from the Eastern Australian Aerial Waterbird Surney (EAAWS), describing it as "scientifically robust". While the EAAWS has some positives, it is simply not an accurate way to establish the abundance of game ducks in Australia.

Eastern Australia received near-record rainfall in 2022, boosting wetland habitat and nesting vegetation. Waterbird breeding as recognised in the EAAWS was at near record highs, Dr Richard Kingsford said on ABC radio recently, describing game duck breeding as difficult to see because they hide their nests.

From the air it's easy to see nests in trees and rookeries on islands; but ducks in tree hollows, under lignum bushes and in thick foliage are not so easy to spot. It would be a cynical person who could not draw the correlation: if the big waterfowl are breeding, then ALL waterfowl are breeding.

All science should be challenged. I could be very specific about what welands this survey counts, but what's more important are the wetlands it does not count: Kerang, 90 per cent of the Murray-Darling Basin, Cowal. Anyone who knows ducks and Cowal understands it may have upwards of several million ducks, of all species, let alone the rest of the basin.

A comprehensive abundance survey is done by the NSW DPI and Victoria's Arthur Rylah Institute, known as heli surveys. Helicopter counts of numerous wetlands determine an average number of birds/specied per size of water area.

Bureau of Meteorology water surface area is multiplied by these results, creating methodological, accurate data.

Field & Game Australia has 16,000 members possessing some 400,000 years of collective knowlegde. They conserve and restore wetland habitat to ensure sustainability of all species, pay for game licences, lobby for conservation and for environmental water, and control feral species and weeds. They also keep track of abundance numbers with biannual waterfowl counts since the 1970s – so who better to give the lowdown on the health of your native birdlife than the shooting fraternity? Yes, it's us, the hunter conservationists of the nation.

Recently Victorian voters went to the polls. The "Ban Duck Hunting" party attracted less than 1.5 per cent across the board of Lower House votes.

There are 26,000 Victorian duck hunters waiting for the duck season, with near-record numbers of game birds from a record breeding season, full wetlands and favourable conditions of the like not seen since the mid-1950s.

Duck hunters will boost regional economies, continue family/cultural traditions of harvesting sustainable free-range wild duck – and next year the argument will start again with competing versions of duck science.

Danny Ryan, chairman, Field & Game Australia