Are sharks in Florida feeding on dumped cocaine? Experts try to find out

The bundles of cocaine and other drugs dumped by smugglers in the ocean might be finding their way to hungry sharks, turning the aquatic animals addicted and frenzied. Scientists are on a mission to uncover this, as large amounts of drugs continue to wash up on the beaches of the United States, particularly, along the coast of Florida. 

Each year, authorities have desperately tried to pull out the substance from the ocean. In the Sunshine State, fishermen are known to share anecdotes of drug-addicted fish. To unravel the strange phenomenon, marine biologist Tom Hird and other experts will share their findings in a new television show. 

“The deeper story here is the way that chemicals, pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs are entering our waterways — entering our oceans — and what effect that they then could go on to have on these delicate ocean ecosystems,” Hird told Live Science after conducting experiments with Florida environmental scientist Tracy Fanara.

What did the scientists unravel? 

The duo also dove underwater, only to find out that a few sharks behaved in a strange manner. A hammerhead shark, which is known to stay away from humans, charged at them and swam askew. Another shark was later seen swimming in circles, appearing to almost chase an object that did not exist. 

“I think we have got a potential scenario of what it may look like if you gave sharks cocaine. We gave them what I think is the next best thing. [It] set [their] brains aflame. It was crazy," Hird said. As the last part of their experiment, the duo dropped fake bales of cocaine from an aircraft to observe the reaction of the sharks. 

According to the New York Post, several of them formed a bee line. However, it is unclear if cocaine is the cause of the bizarre behaviour that sharks exhibited. “We have no idea what [cocaine] could do to the shark. So we can’t even say well this is a baseline and go from here,” Hird concluded.