A duck-shooting protester has been shot in the face with pellets on the first day of Victoria's controversial hunting season.

The 43-year-old St Kilda woman was taken to hospital in a stable condition with facial injuries after being hurt at Lake Buloke near Donald in the state's north-west about 9:00am (AEDT) on Saturday.

Police say the shooter was a 14-year-old boy who accidentally hit the woman while hunting with his uncle.

The firearm has been seized and the exact circumstances of the shooting are being investigated.

The Coalition Against Duck Shooting's Kurt Opray says the woman was trying to help injured birds.

"She was just in the water seeking to scare birds away from the shooters and render assistance to birds that have hit the water," he said.

"If they can't keep the sport safe for themselves and others who happen to be in the vicinity it should be finished."

But duck hunters say the protester who was injured was breaking the law.

Field and Game Australia CEO Rod Drew says protesters are not legally allowed in the water while shooting is occurring.

"There are human safety regulations under the Wildlife Act which make it an offence to enter the water before 10:00am when the hunting is occurring and these people were in the water when they shouldn't have been," he said.

"They have a right to protest but we don't believe they have a right to put themselves and other people at risk."

Wildlife officers have fined 17 duck-shooting protesters for illegally entering wetlands today, the second day of the season in Victoria.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) fined 64 protesters and 23 hunters on Saturday.

The DSE says today's protesters were caught breaking the rules in the same place. Eleven hunters were fined for a range of breaches.