Sharks off the Brazilian coast have tested positive for cocaine.
Sharks in Brazil are high on cocaine
A new study by local scientists found high concentrations of the drugs in the bodies of 13 sharpnose sharks that were caught in fishermen's nets off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.
In a stark demonstration of how human drug taking is damaging the natural world, all 13 of the sharks tested positive for the substance.
It is unclear how the cocaine ended up in the bodies of the sharks but the concentration was 100 times greater than had been found in other marine animals.
Enrico Mendes Saggioro, study coordinator at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, said: "Regardless of where the drug came from - which is still not possible to determine - the results show that cocaine is being widely traded and moved in Brazil.
"Cocaine has a low half-life in the environment... so, for us to find it in an animal like this, it means a lot of drugs are entering the biota.
"In other studies, I had already found cocaine in rivers flowing into the sea off Rio, but it was a surprise to find it in sharks - and at such a high level."