Alameda Creek finally seeing an uptick in returning steelhead trout
For years their path has been blocked by dam and flood infrastructure. Now, after years of work and opening a pathway, steelhead trout are back.
Over the last 25 years, the Alameda Creek Fisheries Restoration Workgroup, a coalition of public agencies and nonprofits, have worked to eliminate migration barriers and provide access for the fish to the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.
And for the last 15 years, biologist with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Randy Renn, has been a part of that coalition and effort.
"It's been a lot of work for sure, but rewarding work," said Renn, regarding the years of work. "This is our high flow fish trap, as you can see it's facing downstream to catch the upstream moving fishes."
Between 2015 and 2023, Renn and his team of biologist monitored, captured, and released about 300 fish. This year alone they've had their biggest rebound, tagging nearly about 2,600 steelhead.
"The steelhead are an indicator species, and for this watershed, we're seeing an increase in fish and that just goes to show you we have a healthy watershed," said Renn.
The restoration of the steelhead will improve the overall health of the creek and surrounding watershed.
A healthy watershed provides high quality water. The water system serves about 2.7 million customers.
Renn is out in Sunol almost every day during the fish surveying season, including weekends and holidays, processing the trout. Each fish is anesthetized in this water, then they implant a transponder, weigh and measure the fish, and then take a scale and tissue sample.
The transponder acts like a fast-track pass. When a fish passes through certain antennas placed along the creek, it is recorded.
One of the antennas is located in Fremont, people there can see the box light up when a fish with a transponder moves through it.
"We've already captured 50 unique tags of our migrating fish this year, last year we only had one tagged detection," said Leonard Ash, supervisor with the Alameda County Water District.
Ash explained that they have removed two small dams east of Fremont and added fish ladders to help the fish move through the water system.
"We need to provide a safe passage for fish either moving up stream or down stream," said Ash.
Renn is thrilled to see the improvement and that different agencies are working together to make this happen.
"Everyone is here for the same reason, for the fish and for the health of the water shed," said Renn.
They haven't tracked a full steelhead lifecycle just yet, but Renn is hopeful they will in the next few years.