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Updated May 6th, 2019 at 17:57 IST

Coked fish? Shrimp in 5 UK rivers test 100% positive for cocaine; scientists clueless about the source

Researchers from King's College and the University of Suffolk who were studying these freshwaters for the presence of various micropollutants — or harmful chemicals found in trace amounts — in the tiny aquatic animals, found that all shrimp had tested positive to cocaine.

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Apparently, fishes are swimming in a daze, these days in rural Suffolk County in Britain after shrimp from 5 rivers in Suffolk tested positive for cocaine.

Researchers from King's College and the University of Suffolk who were studying these freshwaters for the presence of various micropollutants — or harmful chemicals found in trace amounts — in the tiny aquatic animals, found that all shrimp had tested positive to cocaine.

“Such regular occurrence of illicit drugs in wildlife was surprising. We might expect to see these in urban areas such as London, but not in smaller and more rural catchments," said a statement released by Dr.Leon Barron of King's College London. The test had apparently been carried out in 15 different sites across the county, yielding the same results.

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Sympathizing with the coked-up fish, scientists have said that the presence of cocaine isn’t the shrimps’ fault. Scientists have explained that drugs frequently make their way into rivers after they were used by humans, which can damage animals and the environment.

“Although concentrations were low, we were able to identify compounds that might be of concern to the environment and crucially, which might pose a risk to wildlife,” said lead author Dr. Thomas Miller of King’s College, in a statement.

The team working on the shrimp study said that they had not identified the source of the drugs and that there was little potential for any effect from the low concentrations of cocaine that they had detected, as reported in an online environmental journal.

While scientists were explaining the environmental consequences of this study, US comedian Stephen Colbert joked about this development saying, "That would be a time saver at someone's Oscar party."

Like Colbert, many have been seeing the hilarity in this news, tweeting:


 

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Published May 6th, 2019 at 17:30 IST

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