A survey of waterbirds hunters in Gomishan wetland, southeast Caspian Sea

185 questionnaires were distributed to hunters around Gomishan Wetland onWednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in December 1996 and January–February 1997 (NB:the weekend in Iran is Thursday/Friday). Of the respondents, 68.3% were forty years old or more, 35% were educated to elementary level, 54.1% were farmers, and 44.7% had hunted for more than 10 years. Of only 35.3% of hunters that responded to the question as to why they hunt, 25.9% said they hunted for food and the remainders said that they hunted for sport. 55.8% go hunting in one or two weeks a month, and 34% go hunting on Fridays.56.5% of hunters use their own vehicles, and 36.5% use boats for hunting. For 70.5% ofhunters, the main targets are ducks (Anas spp.), while 29.5% hunt mainly ducks andEurasian Coot Fulica atra. 55.3% shoot fewer than 5 birds per hunting trip and 37.6%shoot 5–10 birds per trip. According to the questionnaires, 26.3% of the birds killed weremostly Eurasian Coots, 18.7% were ducks, and 55.0% were ducks or coots. 66.2% ofrespondents believed that the population of waterbirds has been declining in recent years.