Spartanburg Water, SCDNR continue fish restocking efforts

Spartanburg Water and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources released 320,000 sunfish Thursday into Lake Bowen and Municipal Reservoir No. 1, the local utility said.

The restocking effort, which began with the Oct. 8 release of 85,000 bluegills, comes about five months after 200,000 fish died in Lake Bowen in May. The state determined that the algaecide was linked to the death of more than 200,000 fish in one of the state’s largest fish kills ever.

Biologists with the Department of Natural Resources recently determined which fish to release through an assessment of which species would benefit most from restocking, Spartanburg Water said in a statement.

There were 122,000 fish released in Lake Bowen and 200,000 released in Municipal Reservoir No. 1.