High seas: The surprising but true tale of Brazil’s ‘cocaine sharks’

We’ve all heard of “Cocaine Bear,” the wild Hollywood tale where a black bear stumbles upon, and consumes, kilos of cocaine in the deep woods of Georgia. But what if I told you there’s very true version of this tale unfolding in real-life today? Meet the “cocaine sharks,” also known as Brazilian sharpnose sharks.

Unbeknownst to them, these mostly unassuming marine creatures, known by the scientific name Rhizoprionodon lalandii, are zipping around in waters off the coast of Brazil that are saturated with cocaine.

Odd question to startling reality

This startling revelation comes from a recent study led by environmental scientist Gabriel de Farias Araujo of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute in Brazil, and his colleagues, including Enrico Mendes Saggioro.

To reach this point of the story, Saggioro, an ecotoxicologist working with the Institute, first had to dream up a seemingly outlandish question that he then posed to his team — could sharks unwittingly ingest cocaine?

When the internal debate began, they weren’t talking about those giant, Hollywood-style predators.

Rather, they concentrated on the Brazilian sharpnose sharks, Rhizoprionodon lalandii — petite sea dwellers measuring about just 52 centimeters in length and weighing less than a quart of milk.

Sharks on cocaine? Believe it!

Is it possible that these little sharks, spending their entire lives in drug-laced coastal waters, might be high on cocaine?

Could it be they are absorbing the drug from the cocaine-infused water or from the fish they eat? Or could they even be ingesting it from drifting drug packages?

Their research yielded astonishing results — all 13 of the juvenile and young adult sharks tested were chock-full of cocaine and significant amounts of benzoylecgonine, the drug’s primary metabolite. The ramifications for the marine ecosystem are potentially massive.

Exactly how cocaine affects these sharks remains a mystery. Yet, studies on other organisms do hint at possible negative impacts.

Experiments have shown that zebrafish embryos exposed to cocaine have reduced cell vitality and increased DNA fragmentation.

Similarly, a study in 2018 revealed that European eels swimming in cocaine-dusted waters exhibited altered muscle physiology.

With these clues, it’s plausible to believe that the cocaine pollution in Brazil’s coastal waters could be wreaking unseen havoc on marine life.

Brazil’s pharmaceutical pollution battle

Pharmaceutical pollution isn’t unique to Brazil, but the country faces an acutely grave problem due to significant cocaine pollution.

A shocking fact the research team found was that water samples from the Bay of Santos in 2017 contained cocaine amounts equivalent to caffeine. That’s a lot of cocaine. So, how does all this cocaine end up in the water?

It’s simple – the drugs are excreted by users and make their way into waterways via sewage. And, as Brazil is a major cocaine exporter, discarded drug packages and illegal refining facilities contribute heavily to this pollution.

Sharks, cocaine, and the food chain

Cocaine isn’t picky about its hosts. Once in the environment, it’s readily absorbed by marine organisms plugging the lower end of the food chain. These creatures inadvertently become drug mules, accumulating cocaine in their systems.

The drug is then passed onto higher-tier consumers, like our Brazilian sharpnose sharks. But here’s where things get even more shocking – the cocaine and benzoylecgonine levels in these sharks were up to a hundred times more concentrated than levels found in other marine life.

This disconcerting buildup implies that the drug is escalating up the food chain, potentially impacting an extensive range of marine life.

The cocaine-soaked coastal waters pose a problem not only for the sharks but for the whole marine ecosystem. Drugs accumulated in the system can disrupt the balance of marine life.

Altered behaviors, reduced reproductive success, and even increased mortality rates are potential outcomes for drug-exposed fish, crustaceans, and mollusks.

And these aren’t isolated events – these changes can ripple through food webs, disturbing predator-prey dynamics and triggering long-lasting ecological consequences.

Protecting marine ecosystems

Araujo and his team are ringing alarm bells, urging for increased surveillance and awareness programs to address this pressing issue.

Especially considering about a third of shark and ray species are already undergoing extinction largely due to overfishing, these pharmaceutical pollutants add insult to injury.

This study is a wake-up call, not just for environmental scientists, but for policymakers too. Tackling pharmaceutical pollution demands concerted efforts on several fronts, from enhancing wastewater treatment to enforcing stricter regulations on pharmaceutical disposal and educating the public about drug pollution’s environmental impact.

Sharks as canaries in the coalmine

The presence of cocaine in Brazilian sharpnose sharks isn’t just a sensationalist headline – it’s a serious environmental crisis that desperately needs our attention.

As we unravel the impact of pharmaceutical pollutants on marine ecosystems, proactive steps to shield these fragile environments become imperative.

Gabriel de Farias Araujo and his dedicated team at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute have emphasized a global concern that extends beyond Brazil’s water territories.

Their work reminds us of our ecosystems’ intricate connections and the far-reaching effects of human actions. It’s a wake-up call for all of us to take ownership of our planet’s health and strive for cleaner, safer futures for all living creatures. After all, the future of our oceans depends on it.

The full study was published in the journal Science of The Total Environment.

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