A brand new study reports that sharks within the Bahamas have tested positive for consuming cocaine, caffeine and other substances.
Based on the findings, published within the journal Environmental Pollution, pharmaceuticals reminiscent of acetaminophen and sertraline, in addition to caffeine, cocaine and other chemicals were present within the systems of three shark species.
Often known as CEC, or contaminants of emerging concern, these substances were found to be particularly prevalent in tourist areas.
Of the 85 sharks analyzed within the study, Caribbean reef sharks, Atlantic nurse sharks and lemon sharks were found to have various levels of the painkillers diclofenac and acetaminophen of their bodies, in addition to cocaine and caffeine.
A Caribbean reef shark.
Photo by Lawson Wood / SplashdownDirect / Rex Features
Stimulants reminiscent of cocaine and caffeine are linked to hyperglycemia, which may interfere with the sharks’ capability to administer blood sugar and can even disrupt the flexibility to metabolize fats.
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Research also found that sharks that had consumed CECs “showed altered triglycerides, urea, and lactate levels,” which can cause “physiological responses” in species that test positive for contaminants.
The study is the primary to detect caffeine and acetaminophen in any shark species worldwide.
Five species of sharks were captured for research purposes, including lemon, Atlantic nurse, blacktip, Caribbean reef and tiger sharks.
This isn’t the primary time cocaine has been detected in sharks — greater than 10 sharks off the coast of Brazil tested positive for cocaine in 2024 — however it is the “first report concerning CECs and potentially associated physiological responses in sharks from The Bahamas,” the study says. It also notes that the archipelago is sometimes called “pristine,” meaning it is taken into account an unspoiled environment with a thriving, well-preserved ecosystem.
In 2011, the country established the Bahamas Shark Sanctuary, protecting its entire ocean territory by banning business shark fishing and trade in shark products.
Aerial shot of Paradise Island within the Bahamas. A ten-year-old boy was airlifted to the U.S. after being bitten by a shark at a resort in Paradise Island.
Laurie Chamberlain/Getty Images
The study attributed its findings partly to tourism, which it says is a “major economic driver” that, when coupled with a rise within the variety of vacation homes and rental properties, “significantly heightens the quantity and chemical complexity of local wastewater.”
Many sharks inhabit shallow coastal areas where tourism traffic is high, which increases their exposure risk, the study added.
This has been a yr of firsts for shark-related discoveries.
In Febraury, researchers released footage of a sleeper shark, captured in January 2025, traversing a barren Antarctic seabed, a finding that contradicted a widely held belief that the deep-sea dwellers don’t live within the region.
The shark was large, estimated at between three and 4 metres long, and was spotted swimming at a depth of 490 metres in temperatures hovering just above 1 degree Celsius.
Data on sharks’ travel patterns and ranges within the region are relatively scarce as a consequence of its remoteness, experts said. And while climate change may very well be a contributing consider the shark’s sighting, it’s also possible that slow-moving sleeper sharks were already in Antarctica and no person ever noticed.
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