Bahamas sharks found to have cocaine and caffeine in their systems

Brazilian scientists have made a startling discovery, detecting traces of substances like nose candy, caffeine, and painkillers in sharks swimming in the waters surrounding the Bahamas, according to a report by the New York Post on Thursday.

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This unexpected finding is attributed to the growing problem of marine pollutants, as outlined in a study published in the journal Environmental Pollution, which describes the concerning trend of "shark-otics" in the area.

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Researchers have noted that pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs are becoming increasingly recognized as contaminants in marine environments, particularly in areas experiencing rapid urbanization and tourism-driven development, which is the case for the Bahamas.

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To investigate the presence of these substances in sharks, a team of researchers analyzed blood samples from 85 specimens around Eleuthera, one of the Bahamas' most remote islands, and tested them for both legal and illegal substances.

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The results showed that 28 sharks, spanning three species, tested positive for drugs, with caffeine being the most common substance detected, followed by acetaminophen and diclofenac, the active ingredients in Tylenol and Voltaren.

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Additionally, two of the sharks tested positive for cocaine, which researchers believe was due to the animals ingesting drug packets that had fallen into the water, as explained by study author Natascha Wosnick of the Federal University of Paraná in Brazil.

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Wosnick was quoted by Science News as saying that the presence of these substances in the sharks is largely due to human activities, such as people urinating in the water and dumping sewage, which the sharks then ingest while investigating their surroundings.

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The drug-addled predators were found to have been taken from popular tourist and dive spots, suggesting that they had been exposed to wastewater from boats and urban developments contaminated with the aforementioned substances.

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While the exact impact of these substances on the sharks' behavior is still unclear, researchers found changes in metabolic markers in sharks with contaminated blood, indicating that exposure to chemical runoff is causing them stress and increased energy expenditure as they attempt to metabolize the pollutants.

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According to Florida oceanographer Tracy Fanara, who was not involved in the study, this suggests that the sharks are experiencing stress and burning more energy due to the presence of these pollutants in their system.

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This discovery reportedly marks the first time cocaine has been detected in sharks in the Bahamas, and the first instance of sharks testing positive for caffeine anywhere on Earth, with previous detections of cocaine in sharks limited to Brazil.