Thousands of chinook: see video sequel to Hidden Beach salmon saga

Some of the many species photographed by Beth Clifton of ANIMALS 24-7 at Hidden Beach. (Beth Clifton collage)

If every Puget Sound beach had chinook like this, the endangered orca whales would be fat and happy!

Remember Exploiting starving orcas to push a boondoggle, posted by ANIMALS 24-7 on August 29, 2018?

This afternoon, June 12, 2023, Beth Clifton of ANIMALS 24-7 documented in the attached video the presence of thousands of baby Chinook salmon smolt in the Saratoga Passage at Hidden Beach, near Greenbank, Washington.

Chinook salmon are the staple diet of the much cherished orca whales in the Puget Sound, often seen from Hidden Beach.

ANIMALS 24-7 in 2018-2019 fought hard to preserve Hidden Beach as it has existed for at least the past 60 years to protect the abundant marine life and sea birds who live there.

River otter eats a starfish between the pilings at Hidden Beach.
(Beth Clifton photo)

“Leave Hidden Beach alone!” we argued, “and the salmon will recover.”

Several non-profit groups were pushing a make-work project to uproot and disturb Hidden Beach in the name of boosting salmon spawning, at great cost to taxpayers in the state of Washington, who were to fund this boondoggle in the form of a grant made to “save” orcas.

ANIMALS 24-7 resisted this project because the consequences of human intervention would have been injurious to all of the wildlife at Hidden Beach, including the “feeder fish” already abundant there and any chinook salmon who happened by.

Thankfully, state funding reallocations due to COVID 19 put the kibosh on their plans.

Merritt & Beth Clifton.

The sea life in the Saratoga Passage and Hidden Beach remain thriving and healthy, including Sydney the seal, who watched the video-making from a safe distance with keen but wary interest.