In a\u00a0\u201cstunning\u201d\u00a0scientific first, researchers in Brazil have found sharks\u00a0with\u00a0cocaine in their systems <\/p>
For the first time, scientists have detected the presence of cocaine in sharks, according to a\u00a0new study<\/a>\u00a0published in\u00a0Science of The Total Environment<\/em>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p> Knowing\u00a0that\u00a0Cocaine (COC) and benzoylecgonine (BE) have been detected in aquatic\u00a0environments before,\u00a0researchers at\u00a0the\u00a0Oswaldo Cruz Institute\u00a0tested\u00a0muscle and liver samples from\u00a013 Brazilian\u00a0sharpnose sharks (Rhizoprionodon lalandii<\/em>). They\u00a0found cocaine\u00a0in all\u00a013\u00a0sharks\u00a0and BE\u00a0(which comes from the metabolisation of cocaine)\u00a0present in 12.<\/p> \u201cThe result is stunning. We found the substance in all 13 sharks analysed, and only one of them did not detect benzoylecgonine, which is the main metabolite of the drug,” says pharmacist Enrico Mendes Saggioro.<\/p> Brazilian sharpnose sharks\u00a0(top image) live near\u00a0the coast so the researchers believe the contamination would have occurred close to where the samples were collected,\u00a0not far from\u00a0Rio de Janeiro. The drug could have got into the marine environment through sewage releases into the sea.\u00a0<\/p> \u201cThe data draws attention to the high amount of the drug that is consumed in the city and discarded into the sea via sanitary sewage,\u201d says the\u00a0Oswaldo Cruz Institute in a press\u00a0statement<\/a>.<\/p> Surprisingly,\u00a0they found a higher concentration of cocaine in the muscles than the livers.\u00a0This could mean that the substance is abundant in their environment,\u00a0and accumulating in their tissues,\u00a0rather than that they\u2019re\u00a0ingesting it.\u00a0<\/p> \u201cEverything that is ingested is transformed by the liver to be excreted,\u201d explains\u00a0Mendes Saggioro.\u00a0Finding higher concentrations of cocaine in the muscle\u00a0\u201cmay signal the abundance of the substance’s presence in the marine environment. The sharks would be contaminated in various ways, either by the fact that they inhabit the region or feed on other contaminated animals,”\u00a0he\u00a0says.<\/p> In the movies, a cocaine-fuelled shark\u00a0would wreak havoc on\u00a0unsuspecting swimmers (in\u00a0a low-budget 2023\u00a0movie<\/a>, the cocaine creates mutant sharks that \u2013 spoiler \u2013\u00a0escape the lab)\u00a0but, in reality,\u00a0scientists\u00a0are worried by\u00a0what this could\u00a0mean for the\u00a0species, which is already listed as vulnerable to extinction by the\u00a0IUCN<\/a>\u00a0Red List.<\/p> “Specific studies need to be carried out to determine the exact consequences of this contamination on animals,\u201d\u00a0says biologist Rachel Ann Hauser-Davis.\u00a0\u201cIt is believed that there\u00a0may be an impact on the growth, maturation and, potentially, fecundity of sharks, since the liver plays a role in the development of embryos.”\u00a0<\/p>