In a shocking discovery off the shores of Rio de Janeiro, scientists at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute found more than a dozen Brazilian sharpnose sharks to show positive for cocaine. The concentrations of this drug were announced to be 100 times higher in the muscle and liver tissues compared to previous measurements taken from several other aquatic species.
The team targeted the health of marine life and took samples from 13 sharks. Their findings are shocking and worrying, putting on record an alarming presence of cocaine in these marine predators.
Sharks are ingesting cocaine in the ocean, more than 12 have tested positive for coke, according to scientists in Brazil. PIC.TWITTER.COM/QWAITS38YB
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) JULY 25, 2024
The researchers believe that this cocaine could have made its way into the ocean via runoff of illegal drug labs or via raw sewage from users. Although flushed packs lost or jettisoned by traffickers are a plausible explanation for how cocaine makes its way into the water, according to this team, that only forms a less likely cause of contamination. The result raises important concerns about drug pollution in our marine environments.
There are severe risks posed by the presence of cocaine in the sharks. Cocaine exposure may cause DNA damage, inhibition of fat metabolism, and immense behavioral change. One of the most haunting factors connected with this finding is that all the female sharks in the sample were pregnant. This has raised some really urgent questions about the effect the findings could have on their unborn offspring, although it is not known how specifically fetuses are affected.
The discovery does not stand alone; it comes as part of a wider and more sinister trend. Other earlier research studies have detected the presence of different pharmaceuticals, such as antidepressants and antibiotics, in marine life. Constitute macro-contaminants, which are very harmful to wildlife and also pose threats to human health. Cocaine contaminating sharks has just added another layer of complexity and urgency to drug contamination issues within marine ecosystems.
