Harvest of Emperor and Black Brant geese will be restricted this season, in response to a decline of both populations of geese. The management decision was made by the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council and the Pacific Flyway Council.
Randall Friendly, a waterfowl biologist for the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, says the decision is based in data collected from a survey.
“Right now, the population for the Emperor goose, based on our coastal survey, was below 23,000, which prompted the closure of harvest and egging,” Friendly explained. “There are five sub colonies for the Black Brant, and some of those colonies are not doing so well.”
Both harvesting and egging for Emperor geese are closed this season. Black Brant geese can be harvested, but egging is not permitted.
These restrictions apply to the entirety of the 2025 migratory bird hunting season, which opened on April 9, and will extend to both the fall and winter harvests later this year.
Friendly said the pause in harvest is a way of allowing both species to rebound and ensure that hunting can continue in the future, though the restrictions come at an immediate cost.
“The people that will be hit the most are communities that are near these nesting areas that they normally utilize to go egging, or harvest, geese, ducks while they're arriving,” Friendly said. “So of course, maybe it's not the best thing, but there are other bird species that they can hunt or harvest, other species of eggs.”
Friendly advised hunters and egg gatherers to be aware of how to identify the regulated species this season. The refuge also encourages people to use steel shot ammunition. Lead ammunition has been illegal for migratory bird hunting since 1991 as a way to mitigate high lead levels in the soil of some coastal communities where the geese are hunted.
Friendly said some birds in the region are banded. It’s not illegal to shoot those birds, but it helps the refuge with their tracking if hunters that shoot a banded bird report it to the wildlife refuge office.
