Udta Machhli: Cocaine-infused sharks have been found infesting Rio’s waters in Brazil!

What’s the biggest party animal you can think of? Dolphins with their pufferfish huffing habits? Sex-crazed Bonobo monkeys? Your cousin Jeff with his allegedly “wild” weekends he keeps droning on about?

While all of these may be correct answers in their own ways, the latest addition to the party is a creature that has already struck fear in the hearts of many, even before it hopped up on hard drugs: sharks.

In a revelation that seems like a Sharknado side plot, a team of marine biologists have found significant levels of cocaine in the systems of Brazilian Sharpnose sharks off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Yes, we’re talking about the same stuff that made Pablo Escobar rich.

The research team, representing several Brazilian institutions, procured 13 Brazilian Sharpnose sharks from local fishermen for their study. Once in the lab, these shallow-dwelling small sharks were dissected, and muscle and liver samples were meticulously analysed using tandem mass spectrometry. The results were shocking: cocaine concentrations in these sharks were approximately 100 times higher than any previously recorded in marine animals.
The journey of cocaine from human consumption to the depths of the ocean is an intricate and troubling tale. Prior studies have indicated that cocaine often finds its way into the ocean through a combination of wastewater, drainage from illicit laboratories, and packages discarded by traffickers evading law enforcement. Yet, the persistence of cocaine in the marine environment and its impact on marine life has remained largely unexplored. Now that it is affecting some of the ocean’s apex species, there will hopefully be more research into the matter.

How does it affect the sharks?

While the discovery of cocaine in shark tissues is intriguing, it raises more questions than it answers. Does it make them more aggressive, like we see in humans? Could it disrupt their reproductive systems, as seen with other toxins in shark livers? Only more research will tell.

Previous studies have shown that cocaine can damage the DNA of mollusks, another significant component of the marine ecosystem. The potential ramifications of such damage cascading through the food web are alarming, highlighting the urgent need for deeper investigation. Notably, “Cocaine Sharks” was covered by Discovery Channel’s Shark Week show after some scientists found hammerhead sharks acting highly unusually in Florida.
Understanding how this potent drug enters the ocean is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies. The researchers emphasise the need for concerted efforts to identify and mitigate these sources to protect marine life from the unintended consequences of human activities.

In the meantime, the idea of "cocaine sharks" might seem like a quirky headline, but it represents a serious and complex challenge that requires our immediate attention.

The findings of this research have been published in Science of the Total Environment and can be accessed here.