Rare salmon sightings have been reported at Oakland’s Lake Merritt over the past few days, creating a lot of excitement. James Robinson of Oakland’s Lake Merritt Institute is almost giddy about the salmon that have been showing up at the Lake. So far, four salmon have been recovered over the last week, and one was spotted swimming in the water. “It was amazing when I heard it. I couldn’t believe it myself,” Robinson said. “I’ve been at the Institute for over ten years, and this is the second time I’ve seen salmon in the lake.” Naturalists said a century ago, the Lake likely had many salmon swimming through during the spawning season, but that was before barriers were built around the Lake to prevent the fish from reaching the creeks. “They’re coming back, using cues they have to complete their life cycle, and they’re coming back into the center of Oakland right here to us,” said Katie Noonan, a volunteer at the Rotary Nature Center. Naturalists said they don’t know precisely why they’ve returned, but some have some ideas. “The fish are sensing something that says, ‘hey, this is worth investigating.’ and that probably means water quality is a lot better, or that means the flow of freshwater from Lake Merritt into the Bay is greater,” said Damon Tighe, a naturalist. Volunteers said they’ve worked hard to keep the Lake clean and are encouraged by the salmons’ return. “It’s sort of like nature giving you a pat on the back; you’re doing a good job. We just need to do a little more to get them to the creeks,” Robinson said.