Sharks Off Coast of Brazil Test Positive for Cocaine: Study

Sharks off the coast of Brazil have tested positive for cocaine, marking the first time the drug has been found in free-ranging sharks, according to researchers. In the study, titled “‘Cocaine Shark’: First report on cocaine and benzoylecgonine detection in sharks,” researchers at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro analyzed cocaine (COC) and its main metabolite, benzoylecgonine (BE), in the muscle and liver tissues of 13 Brazilian sharpnose sharks. Researchers said concentrations of cocaine and BE detected in the sharks exceeded levels reported in other studies for fish and other aquatic organisms “by up to two orders of magnitude.” The sharks were captured by fishing fleets in the Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighborhood off the coast of Rio de Janeiro in south-eastern Brazil from September 2021 to August 2023....