From Newsgroup: rec.boats

Researchers found cocaine in the blood of sharks near the Bahamas.
Biologist Natascha Wosnick led an international team of researchers
that tested 85 sharks around Eleuthera Island.
Lead researcher on the study Natascha Wosnick told Science News that
the substances are the result of human pollution.
rCLWerCOre talking about a very remote island in the Bahamas,rCY Wosnick, a biologist with the Federal University of Paran|i in Brazil, told the
outlet. rCLItrCOs mostly because people are going there, peeing in the
water and dumping their sewage in the water."
Nearly one-third carried traces of caffeine and common painkillers such
as acetaminophen and diclofenac. One baby lemon shark tested positive
for cocaine. The team believes the animal likely bit into a floating
package dumped at sea by traffickers.
rCLWhile the detection of cocainerCoan illicit substancerCotends to draw immediate attention, the widespread presence of caffeine and
pharmaceuticals in the blood of many analyzed sharks is equally
alarming,rCY Wosnick told CBS News. rCLThese are legal substances,
routinely consumed and often overlooked, yet their environmental
footprint is clearly detectable. This underscores the need to
critically reassess even our most normalized habits.rCY
That discovery grabs attention, but the real story runs deeper. Drug trafficking routes cut through Caribbean waters on the way north. When smugglers need to move fast or avoid capture, they dump cargo. Sharks investigate, swallowing what they find, but a decision made in seconds
doesn't stay contained; it moves through the water, into wildlife, and
across the food chain.
The sharks were captured around popular diving and tourist cruise
spots, and the suggestion is that untreated wastewater from boats may
be contributing to these resultsrCoas well as greater wastewater from
urban development and tourism more generally.
It's an issue that experts are increasingly worried about. In a study
published last year, cruise ships visiting the ArcticrCoessentially
moving, floating mini-citiesrCowere found to be releasing antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, and other substances into the water.
More sharks have tested positive for several substances, pointing to
another problem tied to human activity. Wastewater from coastal towns
and tourist areas carries traces of everyday drugs into the ocean.
Those chemicals don't disappear; sharks absorb them through their gills
or by eating contaminated prey. The study marks the first recorded
detection of caffeine in any shark species and the first confirmed case
of cocaine exposure in sharks swimming in Bahamian waters.
Marine biologist Tracy Fanara has studied similar contamination and has
warned how closely human activity now overlaps with marine ecosystems.
Tourism, pharmaceutical waste, and trafficking routes all converge in
the same waters, resulting in wildlife carrying chemical traces tied to
both daily habits and criminal networks. <https://pjmedia.com/david-manney/2026/03/26/cocaine-sharks-in-the- bahamas-show-the-cost-of-bad-choices-n4951119>
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