SIU gets 115-pound black carp specimen for further study

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) - Researchers at Southern Illinois University have received what could be one of the largest black carp used for scientific research.

Officials at the Carbondale campus say they've received a 115-pound specimen of the invasive fish species.

Associate zoology professor Gregory Whitledge says the fish was caught this month by commercial fishers in Missouri. Research possibilities include the fish's health and reproductive potential in the Mississippi River.

The university runs a state program to pay commercial fishers to turn over black carp for scientific analysis.

Black carp were brought to the country from China as a way of controlling parasite-carrying snail that were damaging fish in the South. However, some escaped and made it into the Mississippi River.