TRANSCRIPT:
Hello this is Dr. Tom Mullikin with SCDNR for Into the Wild.
Each spring, striped bass begin moving upstream as water temperatures rise. Their spawning run depends on something easy to take for granted: enough flowing river.
Females release semi-buoyant eggs into the current while several males fertilize them. Those eggs must remain suspended as they develop. If they settle too quickly to the bottom, survival drops. That is why long, free-flowing stretches of river are so important to natural reproduction.
South Carolina helped pioneer striped bass hatchery work, and many reservoir fisheries are supported through stocking. But wherever the fish can complete the journey on their own, the river is doing the work of a hatchery. A spring current is not just moving water downstream. It is carrying the next generation with it.