Sharks testing positive for cocaine: scientists sound the alarm
As part of a study shared by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (in Latin America), a team of scientists carried out analyses on a dozen wild sharp-nosed sharks. The results showed that all the sharks - 13 in all - had been exposed to cocaine.
A high concentration of the drug was detected in sharpnose sharks off the coast of Brazil. In particular, experts found a concentration up to 100 times higher than that already reported for other marine creatures, reports 20 Minutes.
While the scientists confirmed that these substances were indeed transiting “in the raw sewage from rivers and urban canals that flow into the coastal region studied”, this exposure in the sharks' natural habitat is also thought to be due to the transport of cocaine by sea.
An environmental hazard
Furthermore, “this highlights the considerable global impact of cocaine as an environmental pollutant, particularly in urban areas of developing countries such as Brazil", the experts warned.
(MH with AsD - Source : 20 Minutes/Linfo.re - Illustration : Unsplash)