RRR summed it up nicely. However, I'd like to add that most people at Point No Point don't even wear boots of any sort so it's hard for them to land and release any wild fish or chinook without pulling them onto the beach to avoid getting wet feet. We all know that sand and salmon don't mix very well. Once the sand gets on the fish, it doesn't come off that easily due to attachment to the mucuous layer on the skin.
I personally exert a greater impact on juvenile chinook rather than adults since i've never jigged a keeper size chinook off any beach. Also, I've seen atrocious handling of smolts by other fishermen over the course of last summer. Smolts would be caught by fishermen without boots and simply dropped in front of their feet with the expectation that the waves will carry them back out. However, in the process, they get sand on the fish. Not to mention I forgot to state the worst offense: grabbing the smolt with your bare hand, rubbing off scales, and unhooking it. For those fish that were foul hooked, they may get carried out by the waves and current, but it doesn't mean that the gulls can't get 'em later. The way to deal with these juveniles is to grab the line above your lure with your thumb and index finger, slide it down til you get to the hook, hold the fish over the water, grab the shank or bend and unhook. Done deal, less harm.