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Hunting And Fishing Minister Joins Game Bird Season Opening Hunt

Hunting And Fishing Minister Joins Game Bird Season Opening Hunt

Scoop03-05-2025
Press Release – New Zealand Government
This isn't just recreation — it's about sustainably harvesting food, teaching the next generation important skills, and maintaining connections to our heritage that stretch back for generations, says Hunting and Fishing Minister James Meager.
Minister for Hunting and Fishing
Hunting and Fishing Minister James Meager has joined the thousands of New Zealanders taking part in the annual game bird hunting season opening.
He spent the morning at Te Nohoaka o Tukiauau / Sinclair Wetlands, a 315-hectare portion of the Lakes Waihola-Waipori wetland south of Dunedin, hosted by Fish & Game New Zealand.
'It was awesome being out there with fellow hunters as the sun rose on opening day,' Mr Meager says.
'This isn't just recreation — it's about sustainably harvesting food, teaching the next generation important skills, and maintaining connections to our heritage that stretch back for generations.'
The game bird season opener saw an estimated 60,000 people head to wetlands and waterways across the country, many travelling significant distances from urban centres.
'Fish & Game regions across the country do a great job managing the game-bird populations, looking after wetlands, waterways and wildlife habitats, and making sure this tradition stays sustainable for future generations,' Mr Meager says.
'My priority is to make it as simple as possible for Kiwis to go hunting and fishing in New Zealand. What I saw today was people from all walks of life coming together to do just that.
'Hunters understand the effort and responsibility involved in harvesting wild food, and there's real value in that knowledge. We back our hunters to be part of the conservation solution and will continue to ensure Fish & Game are a responsible, responsive and collaborative organisation providing value for licence-holders' money.'
Note:
The game bird season opener is traditionally held on the first weekend of May each year.
The game bird season for mallards runs for six to 12 weeks depending on the region and can be longer for other species.
Fish & Game New Zealand issues approximately 38,000 game bird hunting licences annually, with an estimated 60,000 hunters participating when including landowner-occupiers.
Licence fees support wetland conservation and habitat restoration projects throughout New Zealand.
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The legacy of Sir Michael Hill: Jeweller, violinist, philanthropist

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For the company's 10th AGM in 1997, 250 shareholders were loaded onto a train in Auckland bound for Waimauku. Hill, nattily dressed in pinstriped pants and sporting a red tie decorated with yellow worms, served bubbly and wine on the journey to his faithful followers. Again the news was good: a plan to open 100 stores and move to other countries as the market became saturated. Former Herald writer Bernadette Rae was on the train that day. As she put it: 'So many fingers to ring, so many necks to chain.' In the early 1990s, everything Michael-Hill-jeweller touched seemed to turn to gold. (He famously sold his wife's engagement rings four times after they were admired, each time replacing it with a bigger stone). Sir Michael and Lady Christine Hill at the opening of their revamped Whangārei store in 2013. Sir Michael famously sold his wife's engagement ring four times. Then came the stumble of the shoe era. 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Underneath Hill has signed off with the quote, 'Live every day as if it was going to be your last, for one day you're sure to be right.' Jane Phare is the New Zealand Herald's deputy print editor. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

Food fixes to beat the bin
Food fixes to beat the bin

Otago Daily Times

timea day ago

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Food fixes to beat the bin

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