Overview
- Peer-reviewed research in Environmental Pollution analyzed blood from 85 sharks off Eleuthera in the Bahamas and found 28 with human-used chemicals.
- Caffeine was detected in 27 sharks, diclofenac in 13, paracetamol in 4, and cocaine in 2, with some animals carrying more than one substance.
- Detections occurred in Caribbean reef, Atlantic nurse and lemon sharks near popular dive and boat anchor sites, with the most hits at a location called Aquaculture Cage.
- The authors report the first records of caffeine and paracetamol in any shark species and the first cocaine and diclofenac detections in Bahamian sharks.
- Contaminated sharks showed stress-linked shifts in blood chemistry, and the team points to wastewater and occasional contact with discarded drug packets as plausible sources while urging better wastewater controls.