Scientists have discovered traces of cocaine in wild sharks off the coast of Brazil, shedding light on the potential environmental impact of the illegal drug trade. The unprecedented study, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, reveals that all 13 Brazilian sharpnose sharks tested positive for cocaine and its metabolite, benzoylecgonine.

Between September 2021 and August 2023, fishing fleets captured the sharks – three male and ten female – off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state in southeastern Brazil. Researchers found the drug and its metabolite in the sharks' muscle tissue and livers, raising concerns about the extent of drug pollution in marine ecosystems.

While the exact source of exposure remains unclear, scientists speculate that cocaine traces may have entered coastal waters through untreated sewage discharged from rivers and urban canals. Another potential source could be cocaine packages drifting in the water, posing a risk if sharks inadvertently bite into them.

"This is the first time cocaine has been detected in wild sharks worldwide," the study's authors noted. "Our findings point to the potential impacts of the presence of illicit drugs in environments."

The discovery draws parallels to the infamous "Cocaine Bear" incident in Georgia, where a black bear overdosed on cocaine believed to have been discarded by drug smugglers. However, unlike the fictionalized movie adaptation, the bear's actual fate was likely a swift overdose.

Researchers expressed concern about cocaine potentially reentering the food chain, as these sharks are often fished for their meat. The study also revealed that cocaine levels were three times higher in muscle tissue than in the liver, with female sharks showing higher concentrations compared to males.

The amount of cocaine and benzoylecgonine found in the sharks "exceeded levels reported in the literature for fish and other aquatic organisms by up to two orders of magnitude," according to the study.

This research adds to a growing body of evidence highlighting the presence of illegal drugs and pharmaceuticals in water bodies worldwide. Previous studies in São Paulo state detected cocaine contamination posing ecological threats to marine life, including mussels and oysters. In 2019, British researchers found freshwater shrimp exposed to cocaine and other pharmaceuticals in UK rivers.

The UN reports a significant increase in global cocaine consumption over recent decades, with Brazilians among the largest consumers in South America. The researchers chose to study the sharpnose shark due to its small size and habitat in areas susceptible to sewage contamination, making it an "environmental sentinel."

As this study unveils the extent of drug pollution in marine ecosystems, it underscores the urgent need for improved wastewater treatment and stricter measures to combat drug trafficking to protect marine life and public health.

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A rare seal was spotted on a beach in central Israel, with volunteers protecting it until it decides to return to sea.

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The Nature and Parks Authority said the Mediterranean Monk Seal is female and around 3-5 years old. She was named Julia, a name given by Muhammad, a child who was at the beach and helped the volunteers protect the mammal.

Video: Rare seal makes landfall on Israel's shore (Credit: Nature and Parks Authority)

Julia has so far spent three days ashore. Experts stressed that its presence did not indicate any danger to its habitat.

According to Guy Levian, the head of the Marine Unit at the Nature and Parks Authority, it was the first time a seal was sighted resting on the shore in Israel. In 2010, a seal was seen for the first time riding waves close to a Herzliya beach but did not come ashore.

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INPA ranger Eyal Miller is tracking the whale's movements. The animal arrived from the direction of Iceland and at some point became separated from its pod and lost its way.

Video: Eyal Miller / Israel Nature and Parks Authority

Researchers think that the whale in question is a male known as Riptide, who in recent months has been seen off the coast of Napoli, Italy, as well as offshore of Beirut.

Marine biologist and Top Predator Project manager at the IMMRAC Dr. Aviad Scheinan told Israel Hayom that "This is a special sight. There is a reason people get excited when it comes to the most important apex predator in the ocean. This is a male killer whale that has grown to a length of about 10 meters (some 30 feet) and weighs 10 tons. This is something you see very occasionally, if at all, in our region."

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Dr. Tamar Lotan and Professor Dror Angel, experts at University of Haifa's Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, explain what's behind this year's increased jellyfish swarms and what must be done moving forward.

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Q: Are we seeing increasing rates of jellyfish coming to Israel's coast?

These swarms have been happening in our region since the 1980s and in varying abundances, so until we carry out large-scale quantitative assessments (rather than impressions), the jury is out on whether there is an increase.

This year specifically is anomalous because the recent winter had exceptionally high rainfall that washed out large quantities of nutrients to our normally nutrient-poor sea, driving production rates up and providing lots of food to all members of the marine food web, including the jellyfish. The swarms recur in this region year after year because the jellyfish have become established here.

Q: What threat do they pose?

The impacts of jellyfish to the ecosystem are numerous and not necessarily all negative:

Consider that:

The jellyfish compete directly and quite efficiently with larval and young finfish over planktonic food, and in some cases, the jellies have caused these fish populations to "starve."

Jellyfish are predators, and massive swarms/blooms with large predation pressure can cause ecosystems to become unbalanced.

Jellyfish blooms mean considerable biomass in the water column, and when that material sinks and decomposes on the seafloor, it can either cause the formation of hypoxic and anoxic sediments (dead zones) or a feast to bottom dwellers (benthos) that enjoy the food (like manna in the sea).

Jellyfish blooms can cause mechanical clogging of coastal power plants that use seawater to cool their turbines, problems to desalination plants that use seawater to generate freshwater, problems to fisherfolk that want to target finfish or other marine species, all marine recreation and aquaculture farms that grow fish in cages.

Q: Can we avoid jellyfish swarms in the future?

We cannot avoid swarms, as these are natural phenomena, but we must do more research to understand the dynamics of the swarms better in order to eventually be able to predict these.

Common knowledge assumes there is ongoing competition between larval (and young) finfish and jellyfish because they all rely on the same planktonic organisms for food. Overfishing or heavy fishing pressure often results in reduced finfish populations, which may give the upper hand to their competitors, the jellyfish. So if we maintain healthier populations of finfish, this may reduce jellyfish swarms.

The same argument is applied to coastal development. Many finfish have natural nurseries near the shore, and if coastal development encroaches on these, this adds pressure to natural fish populations and threatens their survival. A solution to this is to establish marine-protected areas where coastal development does not happen to protect natural biota; this may also ultimately reduce jellyfish swarms.

Jellyfish also seem to be less affected by pollution than other marine groups. So if the sea is polluted by chemicals or other agents, the jellyfish may fare better than other groups – once again boosting their populations and success in comparison to their competition.

The solution here, of course, is to reduce marine pollution.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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