“Taken us by surprise”: Tower Hill to partially reopen for duck shooters after years of closures
The volcanic crater has been opened for hunting only once since 2017, and locals warn the move could endanger rare waterbirds.
Zara Cuthbertson
March 16, 2026
Sections of the Koroit and Port Fairy community are calling on the state government to put a stop to duck shooting in parts of Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve, with fears local rare waterbirds could end up quite literally in crossfire.
The background: Despite a brief reopening in 2021, Tower Hill has been closed to duck shooting since 2017, after incidents of prohibited birds being mistakenly shot. For many residents in the area, the years of silence led to the belief hunting in the region had effectively ended.
Now, the state Game Management Authority has loosened the leash and offered shooters another chance to hunt in the reserve.
Get out your compass: Come Wednesday, the western lake at Tower Hill will be closed to shooters to protect waterbirds, but the northern and eastern lakes will remain open - a decision locals say was done “under stealth”.
“It’s just taken us all completely by surprise,” Port Fairy resident Lex Thompson told the Brolga.
Certain endangered species in the area, like the Blue-billed Duck or the Blue-winged Shoveler, are prohibited from being hunted.
Why does it matter? The state Game Management Authority says the partial closure of the western lake aims to protect endangered birds, but Thompson argued those wetlands have largely dried up, forcing many waterbirds to congregate in other areas.
“Most of the waterfowl has moved back to the lake… where they’re going to allow the duck hunting,” Thompson said.
How does duck season work? Under state government rules, the 2026 duck season opens at 8am on Wednesday, March 18 and runs until June 8. The daily bag limit is nine game ducks.
Hunting start times are 8am to 9am, and 5pm until 30 minutes after sunset for the first five days (March 18 to 22), then from 30 minutes before sunrise to 9am for the remainder of the season.
Hunting finishes 30 minutes after sunset for every day of the season.
Concerns for rare ducks: Thompson fears the early morning and dusk hunting times may create risk of the rare ducks being shot by mistake.
“We know from other duck hunting seasons that often the duck hunters just aren't capable of identifying these different sorts of ducks,” he said. “If they're shooting in half light, who could tell whether it's a Grey Teal or a Blue-billed Duck?”
Two protected Blue-winged Shovelers among other non-protected ducks. Image: Andrew Patterson
Thompson also questioned how hunters would bag ducks shot down in hard to reach areas of the lakes.
“With no boats and dogs allowed in Tower Hill and a vast expanse of water with a bottom of treacherous volcanic mud, no doubt most shot ducks will be just left to suffer and rot.”
The Brolga has contacted the Game Management Authority for comment.
Image credits: Andrew Patterson