THE government's announcement of a restricted 2020 duck season after weeks of uncertainty has been met with outrage.

Hunting groups, animal activists and local MPs have spoken out against the arrangements, arguing the restrictions go both too far, and not far enough.

A shorter season and smaller bag limits are among the arrangements this season, which is set to run for a five-week period, from May 2 to mid-June.

Hunters will also be limited to three ducks a day, with the hunting of the Blue-winged Shoveler prohibited throughout the entire season.

A full season typically runs for nearly 12 weeks from mid-March to mid-June, with a bag limit of 10 ducks per day.

The government has attributed the restrictions to prolonged dry conditions that have led to low duck numbers and reduced habitat and the impact of recent bushfires on duck populations and habitat.

The Game Management Authority (GMA) said in a statement it had advised the government the recent bushfires have had a "minimal direct impact on current duck populations and habitat".

The 2020 season will start at 8am on May 2 and will last five weeks, closing 30 minutes after sunset on June 8.

During the opening weekend, hunting can start at 8am on both days and must cease by 30 minutes after sunset.

For the rest of the season, hunting can start half-an-hour before sunrise and must stop half-an-hour after sunset.

GMA and partner agencies, including Victoria Police, will patrol both public lands and private properties to ensure compliance with hunting, animal welfare and public safety laws.

As in previous years, the GMA will continue to monitor conditions in the lead up to and during the season.

Where warranted, wetlands may be closed to hunting to protect concentrations of rare threatened species.

The decision to hold a duck season has angered animal rights groups, who had been calling for its cancellation.

BirdLife Australia, which has a number of branches in northern Victoria, has condemned the decision, arguing wetlands should be a "safe haven, not a slaughterhouse".

BirdLife's public affairs manager, Sean Dooley, said many of the birds in the wetland would be "drought refugees" from further north.

"And the ducks just don't need this now, not after the dry conditions we've seen and not after the recent devastating fires," he said.

"And for the psyche of Victorians, we don't need to see more wildlife killed."

But, in a statement following the announcement, Field and Game Australia (FGA) chief executive officer Dean O'Hara branded the heavily modified season as "unjustifiable".

"We can only draw one conclusion; that this is a political compromise not a decision based solely on the available evidence," he said.

Mr O'Hara said FGA had advocated for a "sustainable" nine-week duck season, with six birds per day, which he said would "encourage hunters to travel and spend money in regional communities".

"The short, heavily restricted season will have a negative economic impact on communities that can least afford it," he said.

Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh has also hit out at the government over the "drastically reduced" season.

"Green ideology has trumped logic with a severely shortened season that will take money out of country communities at a time when we desperately need the tourism boost," Mr Walsh said.

"Hunting injects more than $430 million into the state's economy every year, providing a healthy boost for country communities — including those picking up the pieces after this summer's catastrophic bushfires.

"Our responsible, legitimate hunters travel long distances to stay and spend in some of our smallest communities, but Labor's made sure there's little incentive by slashing the daily bag limit."