Scientists have noticed erratic behavior in marine predators, according to a new study. Something they believe may be due to them ingesting drugs that were thrown overboard off the coast of Florida, reports The Guardian and American media.
The sharks are now nicknamed “cocaine sharks”.
“It’s a captivating headline to highlight a real problem. That everything we use, manufacture, and put into our bodies ends up in our wastewater streams and natural waterways,” says Tracy Fanara, environmental engineer and lead member of the research team.
Strange behaviors
Tracy Fanara studied sharks for six days with Tom Hird, a marine biologist. Then the predators exhibited strange behaviour.
“If these bales of cocaine are a point source of contamination, it is very likely that sharks could be affected by the chemicals. Cocaine is so soluble and if any package is thrown over the table and opens a little, the drug is in the water,” says Tracy Fanara.
Swimmed in circles
The hammerhead shark is a species that usually swims away from people. Now they came directly towards the divers and moved erratically. They also observed a sandbar shark swimming in circles when it focused on an imagined object.
The researcher says they chose to study the coast off Florida because there is a large current of floating bales of cocaine.
Florida is known for being a place where large quantities of drugs are smuggled and many are thrown overboard. Last month, the US Coast Guard announced that it had found more than $186 million worth of illegal narcotics in the waters off the Caribbean and South Florida.
Addicted to drugs
How much cocaine the sharks actually ingested during the study is impossible to determine, says Tracy Fanara. She can note, however, that previous studies have shown that fish have become addicted to methamphetamine.
“We have also seen studies with drugs, cocaine, methamphetamine and ketamine where fish are affected by drugs.”
In the coming months, the researcher plans to work with other marine scientists in Florida to take blood samples from some of the sharks to evaluate cocaine levels.