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Sharks in the Caribbean Show Traces of Cocaine, Study Shows

A graceful shark swims through clear blue waters, showcasing its streamlined body and keen eyes in a vibrant marine environment.

A graceful shark swims through clear blue waters, showcasing its streamlined body and keen eyes in a vibrant marine environment.
Caribbean reef shark – Photo by Albert Kok/Wiki Commons

‘Cocaine sharks’ are a thing, now.

A group of Brazilian scientists published a study in the journal Environmental Pollution that is causing concern.

They have discovered traces of cocaine, caffeine, and painkillers in sharks swimming in waters around the Bahamas.

The animals are getting ‘hooked’ as a result of an uptick in marine pollutants.

The New York Post reported:

“’Pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs are increasingly recognized as contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in marine environments, particularly in areas undergoing rapid urbanization and tourism-driven development’, the researchers wrote while describing the troubling […] trend.”

This is the first time sharks tested positive for cocaine in the Bahamas.

Researchers analyzed blood samples from 85 specimens and drug-tested for both legal and illegal substances.

“Of the samples, a shocking 28 sharks spanning three species tested positive for drugs, the most common of which was caffeine. This was followed by acetaminophen and diclofenac, the active ingredients in the popular painkillers Tylenol and Voltaren.

Meanwhile, two of the animals tested positive for cocaine, which researchers attributed to them chomping on drug packets that fell into the water.

‘They bite things to investigate and end up exposed’, study author Natascha Wosnick of the Federal University of Paraná in Brazil, told Science News.”

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