Carcassman,

200-400K pinks in SPC is like 20-40KK in the Skagit. That level of abundance likely never existed in the Skagit even when it was directly connected to Skagit, Padilla, and Samish Bays, all in pristine condition. Would take a lot of estuary forage for that many pink fry. However, winter flooding has probably been common enough to keep the populations in balance with the available estuary forage. What puzzles me are the huge pink populations in the Puyallup and Green systems with all of what, 10 acres of estuary between them? Maybe pinks aren't as estuary dependent as we thought? What next, a major pink run expansion in the Hoh River? I've spent most of my life trying to understand Pacific salmonids, and now there are almost as many questions as I had decades ago.

Sg