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115-pound carp donated for research to SIU Carbondale

The fish was caught last Thursday by commercial fishers on the Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau.

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Over the weekend, a 115-pound carp was donated to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale for research.

The fish is believed to be the largest specimen of the invasive fish species black carp ever brought in for scientific analysis.

Graduate student, Hudman Evans, removed key organs and tissue samples that will tell scientists about the fish and its population.

“This specimen will contribute diet analysis data to my project and also shed light on how black carp diets change as they get older and grow to bigger sizes,” he said.

The fish was caught last Thursday by commercial fishers on the Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau.

Research on the fish could help unlock important secrets about its range, health and reproductive potential in the river and its larger tributaries, according to SIU.

SIU manages a program funded by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources that pays commercial fishers for black carp that they catch and turn over to the university for scientific research.

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