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North Carolina › Hunting seasons › North Carolina Waterfowl Zones

Season guide

North Carolina waterfowl zones

The I-95 duck line, the goose zones and the sea duck and teal areas.

Season calendarAll speciesDuck and goose gear
2Duck zones
2Goose zones
8Split counties

Photo: USFWS Mountain Prairie (CC BY 2.0)

North Carolina duck and goose zones

North Carolina splits duck seasons at Interstate 95: the Inland zone lies west of the highway and the Coastal zone east of it, and the two zones open on different days in October. Canada and white-fronted geese use a different map after September: the Northeast Hunt Zone around the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds has a shorter season and a daily limit of 2, while the Resident Population Zone covers the rest of the state with a limit of 5. Sea ducks have their own area offshore, and September teal are legal only east of U.S. 17.

ZoneDefinitionCounties
Inland duck zoneAll counties and parts of counties west of Interstate 9561 whole counties plus the west side of 8 split counties
Coastal duck zoneAll counties and parts of counties east of Interstate 95Beaufort · Bertie · Bladen · Brunswick · Camden · Carteret · Chowan · Columbus · Craven · Currituck · Dare · Duplin · Edgecombe · Gates · Greene · Hertford · Hyde · Jones · Lenoir · Martin · New Hanover · Onslow · Pamlico · Pasquotank · Pender · Perquimans · Pitt · Sampson · Tyrrell · Washington · Wayne
Split by I-95Part Inland, part CoastalCumberland · Halifax · Harnett · Johnston · Nash · Northampton · Robeson · Wilson
Northeast Hunt Zone (geese)After Sept. 30 (September season is statewide).Camden · Chowan · Currituck · Dare · Hyde · Pasquotank · Perquimans · Tyrrell · Washington and part of Bertie
Resident Population Zone (geese)Rest of the state after Sept. 30All other counties
Sea Duck AreaWaters of the Atlantic Ocean and coastal waters south of U.S. 64 separated by at least 800 yards of open water from any shore, island or marsh; wounded waterfowl may be taken from a motorboat under power.
September teal areaEast of U.S. Highway 17 only.
September goose expanded methodsWest of U.S. Highway 17 (Sept. 1-30): shooting to 1/2 hour after sunset, unplugged guns, electronic calls.

NCWRC migratory game bird seasons; county lists read from the digest zone maps, checked October 25, 2026.

Duck season dates by zone

SpeciesSeasonZoneOpensCloses
TealSeptember teal seasonEast of U.S. 17 onlySep 10, 2026Sep 19, 2026
DucksRegular duck season split 1Inland duck zone (west of I-95)Oct 15, 2026Oct 17, 2026
DucksRegular duck season split 2Inland duck zone (west of I-95)Nov 7, 2026Nov 28, 2026
DucksRegular duck season split 3Inland duck zone (west of I-95)Dec 18, 2026Jan 30, 2027
DucksRegular duck season split 1Coastal duck zone (east of I-95)Oct 23, 2026Oct 24, 2026
DucksRegular duck season split 2Coastal duck zone (east of I-95)Nov 7, 2026Nov 28, 2026
DucksRegular duck season split 3Coastal duck zone (east of I-95)Dec 17, 2026Jan 30, 2027
Sea ducksSea duck split 1Statewide (Sea Duck AreaOct 23, 2026Oct 24, 2026
Sea ducksSea duck split 2Statewide (Sea Duck AreaNov 7, 2026Nov 28, 2026
Sea ducksSea duck split 3Statewide (Sea Duck AreaDec 17, 2026Jan 30, 2027

NCWRC migratory seasons, checked October 25, 2026.

Goose, brant and swan dates by zone

SpeciesSeasonZoneOpensCloses
Canada gooseSeptember Canada goose seasonStatewide (goose zones do not apply in September)Sep 1, 2026Sep 30, 2026
Canada gooseResident Population Zone split 1Resident Population ZoneOct 15, 2026Oct 24, 2026
White-fronted gooseResident Population Zone split 1Resident Population ZoneOct 15, 2026Oct 24, 2026
Canada gooseResident Population Zone split 2Resident Population ZoneNov 7, 2026Dec 5, 2026
White-fronted gooseResident Population Zone split 2Resident Population ZoneNov 7, 2026Dec 5, 2026
Canada gooseResident Population Zone split 3Resident Population ZoneDec 17, 2026Feb 6, 2027
White-fronted gooseResident Population Zone split 3Resident Population ZoneDec 17, 2026Feb 6, 2027
Canada gooseNortheast Hunt ZoneNortheast Hunt ZoneDec 28, 2026Jan 30, 2027
White-fronted gooseNortheast Hunt ZoneNortheast Hunt ZoneDec 28, 2026Jan 30, 2027
Light geeseRegular seasonStatewideNov 7, 2026Mar 10, 2027
Light geeseConservation OrderStatewideNot offered
BrantBrantStatewideDec 28, 2026Jan 30, 2027
Tundra swanTundra swan (permit only)Statewide (permit)Nov 7, 2026Jan 30, 2027

NCWRC migratory seasons, checked October 25, 2026.

Waterfowl limits and hours

  • Ducks: Daily 6 total: no more than 4 sea ducks (max 3 scoters, 3 eiders incl. only 1 hen eider, or 3 long-tailed ducks), 4 mallards (only 2 hens), 3 wood ducks, 3 pintails, 2 black ducks, 2 redheads, 2 canvasbacks, 1 mottled duck, 1 fulvous whistling duck; scaup 1 before Jan. 8, 2 on Jan. 8 and after; harlequin closed; black and mottled ducks closed until Nov. 21. Possession 3x daily.
  • Sea ducks: Daily 4 total (max 3 scoters, 3 eiders incl. 1 hen, or 3 long-tailed ducks); count toward the 6-duck limit.
  • Teal (September): Daily 6; possession 18.
  • Mergansers: Daily 5, no more than 2 hooded mergansers; possession 3x daily.
  • American coot: Daily 15; possession 45.
  • Canada goose (September): Daily 15; possession 3x daily.
  • Canada and white-fronted goose (Resident Population Zone): Daily 5 in aggregate; possession 3x daily.
  • Canada and white-fronted goose (Northeast Hunt Zone): Daily 2 in aggregate (raised from 1); possession 3x daily.
  • Light geese (snow and Ross's): Daily 25; no possession limit.
  • Brant: Daily 1; possession 3.
  • Tundra swan: One per season with special permit (4,853 permits).

Not in the posted impoundment before 4:00 a.m.; no hunting after 1:00 p.m.; decoys out no earlier than 4:00 a.m. and removed by 3:00 p.m. (youth under 16 may hunt until sunset on youth waterfowl days). 1/2 hour before sunrise to sunset for all migratory game birds incl. waterfowl (except September Canada goose west of U.S. 17: to 1/2 hour after sunset); falconry 1/2 hour before sunrise to sunset; no Sunday migratory bird hunting.

NCWRC migratory seasons and shooting hours, checked October 25, 2026.

Wood duck drake on still water
Wood duck drake on still waterPhoto: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Midwest Region (Public domain)
White-fronted geese and wigeon
White-fronted geese and wigeonPhoto: USFWS/Southeast (Public domain)
Green-winged teal on the water
Green-winged teal on the waterPhoto: USFWS Mountain Prairie (Public domain)

North Carolina Waterfowl Zones: questions

Where is the I-95 duck line?

Interstate 95 divides the Inland (west) and Coastal (east) duck zones; Cumberland, Halifax, Harnett, Johnston, Nash, Northampton, Robeson and Wilson are split by it.

Which counties are in the Northeast goose zone?

Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Hyde, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell and Washington and the north and east part of Bertie.

Where is September teal legal?

East of U.S. 17 only, Sept. 10-19, 2026.

Is the light goose Conservation Order open in 2027?

No, it is paused for 2027; the regular light goose season runs Nov. 7, 2026 to March 10, 2027.