Atlas Twp.- The size, numbers and general health of fish in the Kearsley Creek will be examined during late July as the Michigan Department of Resources announced a fish survey will be conducted.
An electric shocking device will be used to stun fish so DNR biologists can examine the creatures that occupy about 10 miles of river through Atlas and Brandon townships. The study is necessary to assure the future health of the stock., said Joe Leonardi, fisheries biologist for the DNR, Southern Lake Huron.
‘Each year the DNR plants about 6,000 brown trout in the Kearsley,? said Leonardi. ‘The number that survive is rather low we estimate’less than 40 percent reach more than 8 inches by late summer. We lose a lot of fish during the winter months. There’s a very high mortality rate in the Kearsley Creek due to several factors including loss of river banks, loss of habitat, low water level and fish eaten by pike.?