Cocaine sharks: Sharpnose sharks caught near Rio show ‘chronic exposure’ to drug

Move over, cocaine bear, and make room for ... cocaine sharks?

Scientists in Brazil said sharks captured off the Brazilian coast tested positive for cocaine, CNN reported.

National Geographic called the research “first-of-its kind.”

They tested 13 sharpnose sharks caught near Rio de Janeiro and found the drug in the liver and muscle tissue of all 13 of them, researchers at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation said.

The sharpnose shark is small and lives in coastal waters where contaminates are discharged for the shark’s entire life cycle, the study said.

They were accidentally captured by fishermen between September 2021 and August 2023, according to National Geographic.

The cocaine was found in levels three times higher in the muscle than in the liver, with females having more cocaine in their systems than males, the researchers found.

The drug is coming from sewage that is produced by the drug’s users, as well as the illegal drug labs that produce cocaine. One thing that is not contributing to the high levels of cocaine in the sharks are bales of the illegal drug being dumped by traffickers, like the drugs that are being sent overboard in Mexico and Florida, experts said.

In addition to cocaine, they found benzoylecgonine, a metabolite that is produced when a body breaks down cocaine.

While the levels in the sharks are high, what is not known is if the cocaine affects the sharks’ health, biologists said. Previous research, however, has shown that it does hurt fish and mussels.

“It is probable, although not yet proven, that exposure would have deleterious physiological effects on the sharks,” the researchers said.

They also don’t know if cocaine would affect the brains of sharks because the research has not been done, but “cocaine targets the brain and hyperactive and erratic behavior has been noted in other animals,” the scientists said.

They also believe that the animals sharks feed on are likely to also be contaminated by cocaine.

What about the effect on humans who eat sharks? That is unknown.

This isn’t the first time sea life tested positive for drugs. Scientists last year said mussels in Puget Sound tested positive for oxycodone, CNN reported.

The sharknose shark is vulnerable to extinction according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

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