\u201cRegardless of where the drug came from \u2014 which is still not possible to determine \u2014 the results show that cocaine is being widely traded and moved in Brazil,\u201d Enrico Mendes Saggioro, coordinator of the study and an ecotoxicologist at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, told The Guardian. \u201cCocaine has a low half-life in the environment\u2026 so, for us to find it in an animal like this, it means a lot of drugs are entering the biota. In other studies, I had already found cocaine in rivers flowing into the sea off Rio, but it was a surprise to find it in sharks \u2014 and at such a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drugs can bioaccumulate in aquatic life, leading to issues such as behavioral changes, reproductive impacts, and even physical alterations that affect the creatures.<\/p>\n
In April 2024, a separate study revealed that cocaine was bioaccumulating in brown mussels in the Bay of Santos, a popular destination in Brazil, Newsweek reported. Researchers have warned that the presence of cocaine and other drugs in marine life can also pose threats to the humans that consume seafood from contaminated areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is worth remembering that sharks are often sold irregularly under the popular name of dogfish. We have already found several toxic metals in dogfish and rays, which are also sold and consumed,\u201d explained Rachel Ann Hauser-Davis, a co-author of the study and biologist at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute. \u201cNow, we detect cocaine in sharks. Pollution and contamination of the environment directly affect animals and nature, but they also impact, in one way or another, human life. One person\u2019s health is linked to the other\u2019s health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Illicit and pharmaceutical drugs are continuously threatening aquatic life, according to recent findings. In June, researchers published a paper expressing the need for greener medications to prevent environmental damage. In another study published in June, scientists found high levels of pharmaceutical and recreational drugs in waters around southern England that could have detrimental impacts on aquatic life. Yet another study published in March of this year revealed the presence of prescription drugs in waterways around Florida.<\/p>\n
The researchers who discovered cocaine present in Brazilian sharpnose sharks have plans to continue their research, collecting and analyzing samples from other species as well as waters around Brazil.<\/p>\n