In 1997, the steelhead population of the San Lorenzo River was listed as threatened. This year, scientists studying the fish have found more young smolts than they have ever seen before. Chris Berry, who manages water resources for the city, says that at one point they raised so many fish that it was impossible to count them all before they had to be released.
Scientists are still trying to understand why there is a sudden spike in the number of steelhead in the river. They suggest that it may have to do with rising water levels over the winter as a result of the heavy rains. At the same time, local efforts to reduce runoff into the river may have had an impact as well.
“They’re holding their own,” said Kit Crump, a restoration ecologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). That’s good news for researchers like Peter Moyle, who wrote just two years ago that if present trends continue, 65 percent of California’s native trout and salmon will be extinct within 100 years. At that time, California Trout CEO Brian Stranko called “cold, clean water” one of the “absolute requirements for healthy fisheries.” Thanks to the abundant winter rains, local fisheries have benefited. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
