MORE THAN ONE MILLION REDBREAST STOCKED

         INTO EDISTO, SALKEHATCHIE
 

   More than one million redbreast were stocked recently into the
Edisto and Salkehatchie rivers by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.
   About 1.3 million redbreast fingerlings, which should reach a
catchable size by the summer of 2004, were stocked in the Edisto and
Salkehatchie rivers in October 2002. Counties where these stockings were
made included Bamberg, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester and Orangeburg.
   All of the redbreast fingerlings stocked in the Edisto and
Salkehatchie rivers were produced at Orangeburg National Fish Hatchery. Mac
Watson, hatchery coordinator for the S.C. Department of Natural Resources,
expressed appreciation to the federal hatchery for its help with the state's
fish stocking program. "I would like to personally thank the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Services and its staff at the Orangeburg National Fish Hatchery for
their cooperation in producing and stocking redbreast fingerlings for the
sportsmen and sportswomen of South Carolina," Watson said. "They annually
provide the state with more than one million redbreast fingerlings for our
public water fish stocking program."
   The S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) annually stocks from
seven to 10 million fish in state waters, including striped and hybrid bass,
largemouth and smallmouth bass, channel and blue catfish, bluegill,
redbreast, redear sunfish (shellcracker), and rainbow and brown trout.
Anglers in South Carolina spend almost $742 million to fish each year,
making the sport, with economic multipliers factored in, a billion dollar
business in the Palmetto State.
   The S.C. Department of Natural Resources operates seven hatcheries
statewide: Dennis Wildlife Center in Bonneau, Cohen Campbell Hatchery in
West Columbia, Cheraw Hatchery, Glenmore Shirey Hatchery in Newberry, Spring
Stevens Hatchery in Heath Springs, Barnwell Hatchery and Walhalla State Fish
Hatchery. The state hatchery program is an integral part of South Carolina's
rich and varied sportfishing tradition.
   

For information on the DNR's fish stocking program, call (803)
734-3891 in Columbia.
 

- Written by Greg Lucas -