Sharks in Bahamas Drugged by Marine Pollution

Sharks in the Bahamas have tested positive for cocaine, caffeine, and painkillers due to marine pollution.

“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.

“Their continual influx poses risks not only to marine biodiversity but also to human health through seafood consumption and recreational water exposure,” wrote researchers in their published paper.

Researchers analyzed the blood from 85 sharks captured around Eleuthera, a remote island in the Bahamas. Twenty-eight of those sharks had drugs in their system.

Drug Pollution Found

The most common substance found in the sharks was caffeine, but two sharks also tested positive for cocaine. Researchers suspect the sharks bit into packets of cocaine that fell into the water.

Natascha Wosnick, a biologist from the Federal University of Parana in Brazil, says, “They bite things to investigate and end up exposed.”

The sharks were captured near popular diving and tourist cruise locations and suggest that untreated wastewater from boats may have contributed to these results, as well as wastewater from urban development and tourism.

This marks the first time caffeine has been detected in sharks, ever, and the first time cocaine has been found in shark systems in the Bahamas. The painkiller found were acetaminophen and diclofenac.

In a study published last year, cruise ships in the Arctic were releasing antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, and other substances into the water.

Previously, traces of cocaine were found in sharks off the coast of Brazil.

Drug Impact

What researchers do not know are the health effects of these drugs on marine life. In the current study, researchers assessed metabolic markers in the sharks, suggesting exposure to these drugs might be leading to a higher stress level and higher energy use as the sharks detoxify their systems.

The study also asserts better wastewater managements from tourism activities and a broader look at how pollution is affecting other parts of the natural ecosystem.

There are a number of earlier studies highlighting the problem of drugs and pharmaceuticals in the environment, and the need for more data on their effects, including in locations once assumed to be untouched.

Researchers write, “The detected CECs represent a diverse group of biologically active compounds with the potential to interfere with fundamental physiological processes in marine organisms.

“This represents the first report concerning CECs and potentially associated physiological responses in sharks from the Bahamas, pointing to the urgent need to address marine pollution in ecosystems often perceived as pristine.”

The research paper was published in Environmental Pollution.

Sources:

ScienceAlert: Sharks Are Testing Positive For Cocaine And Caffeine in The Bahamas
Science News: Sharks are ingesting drugs in the Bahamas
The Independent: Sharks testing positive for cocaine and painkillers are prowling in the Caribbean

Featured Image Courtesy of Vicky Mc Coubrey’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License