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Brazilian scientists claim to have found cocaine-fueled sharks swimming the waters of the Caribbean Sea and they say tourists are to blame, according to a study published in the journal Environmental Pollution.
The strange occurrence is reportedly due to a spike in marine pollutants, according to the researchers.
“Pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs are increasingly recognized as contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in marine environments, particularly in areas undergoing rapid urbanization and tourism-driven development,” the researchers wrote in their study.
The team reportedly analyzed blood samples of 85 specimens around the Bahaman remote island of Eleuthera, which included both legal and illegal substances, and found that 28 sharks spanning three different species tested positive for drugs. Caffeine was the most common substance found among the sharks, followed by acetaminophen and diclofenac, the active ingredients found in Tylenol and Voltaren, respectively, while two of the large fish were found to have tested positive for cocaine attributed to consuming packets that fell into the water.
“They bite things to investigate and end up exposed,” said study author Natascha Wosnick of the Federal University of Paraná in Brazil via Science News.
The study was reportedly the first time cocaine had been found in sharks in the Bahamas, though similar findings were previously made in Brazil, while the new study found caffeine in their system for the first time ever.