RICK PERRY, Captain Erika Ritter, "Ocklawahaman", and many others want to SAVE Silver Springs by restoring again its migrational FISH and other aquatic/marine life plus its MANATEES -- all of which would be made possible by breaching Rodman Dam. Excerpts from: Martin, R. A. 1966. Eternal spring. Man's 10,000 Years of History at Florida's Silver Springs. "Chapter 9 - The Fishes of Silver Springs" by ROSS ALLEN. Florida’s Silver Springs, Inc. (1966). Great Outdoors Press, Inc., St. Petersburg, FL. 264 pp. Available as a hardcopy book. DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN AT SILVER SPRINGS YOU COULD ACTUALLY SEE CHANNEL or WHITE CATFISH IN THE "CATFISH HOTEL" FROM A GLASS-BOTTOM BOAT? Martin (1966) book chapter (pages 194-196) by ROSS ALLEN: "CHANNEL CATFISH attract more attention at Silver Springs than any other fish. They are numerous, particularly around the deep spring holes, where they can be seen maintaining a position by swimming against the current. Large blue-black fish that attain a weight of 40 to 50 pounds, they have broad heads and thick cheeks and some 'old timers' have white spots on top of their heads...Many of these large catfish are seen in a deep spring hole which is called 'CATFISH HOTEL, with running water in every room'" "The WHITE CATFISH, oddly enough, is not white in Silver Springs but is dark blue in color. Hundreds of them congregate in the CATFISH HOTEL, and may be seen in other spots hiding under logs or resting quietly on the bottom." Martin (1966) book chapter (pages 204-205) by Ross Allen: "GIANT SHRIMP, Macrobrachium carcinus. These look like LOBSTER or crayfish to the layman, in fact, like anything except shrimp because they are so large. Some GIANT SHRIMP grow as long as 22 inches with feelers much longer and have long claws with a heavy body that is beautifully marked with green and yellow patterns." "This shrimp is rare but probably more common in Silver Springs than anywhere else. It usually lives in deep holes or underneath large rocks. One has been living for years beneath the sunken boat in the Bridal Chamber." "THIS IS NOT A LOBSTER [in this photo] - Rarely seen, let alone caught, a giant shrimp Macrobrachium carcinus, taken from Silver Springs, is being measured here at about 21 inches. The long pincers are handy for catching small fish but even larger fish stay away from these giant claws. Shrimp like this one live in the subterranean channels deep under the springs." https://www.facebook.com/paul.nosca/posts/743551582458556?pnref=story And don't forget: "Gizzard shad are RARE in Silver Springs." Wow, today they are just about the most abundant fish species there! Come Thursday September 29th we might get to show some of y'all this! RICK PERRY for State House District 23 (Florida) - endorsed by "Ocklawahaman" Paul Nosca. THE PHOTO: BIG CLAW RIVER SHRIMP (a.k.a. GIANT RIVER PRAWN) BIG CLAW RIVER SHRIMP a.k.a. GIANT RIVER PRAWN (Macrobrachium carcinus) is a native brackish-freshwater shrimp (not a fish). Specimens were observed at Silver Springs at least into the 1960's. They would reside in the river's deep holes and spring crevasses. These very large crustaceans live much of their lives in freshwater but must have brackish water for reproduction, which would require migration between the Ocklawaha and the St. Johns estuary -- Rodman Dam makes this extremely difficult. ARE YOU SERIOUS ABOUT OCKLAWAHA RIVER RESTORATION? THINK OF ALL THAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED IN THE PAST TEN YEARS and then… PLEASE SIGN (FOR-FREE) THIS PETITION -- It may be the MOST IMPORTANT THING that YOU can do (or have ever done) to assist SJRWMD and FEDP to determine the best interests of the greater St. Johns River basin. Where else can you get "this much bang for the buck?" Florida residents and/or property owners: Please consider signing for-free the "FREE THE OCKLAWAHA RIVER BY THE BREACHING OF RODMAN DAM" online petition at https://www.change.org/p/st-johns-river-water-management-district-free-the-ocklawaha-river-by-the-breaching-of-rodman-dam Marion County Florida's Ocklawaha River - Silver River - Silver Springs drainage historically contained trophy NATIVE largemouth bass well beyond 10 pounds PLUS naturally-reproducing NATIVE Atlantic-race STRIPED BASS weighing up to 30 pounds or so. Why not have BOTH largemouth and striped bass again? "Ocklawahaman" Paul Nosca.