- A new study has found that cocaine pollution is changing the behaviour of juvenile Atlantic salmon in the wild, causing them to swim further and disperse more widely.
- This research, conducted by Griffith University, is the first to demonstrate the effects of cocaine contamination on fish behaviour in natural environments.
- Tracking over a hundred juvenile salmon in Sweden's Lake Vättern, the study revealed that fish exposed to benzoylecgonine, a cocaine derivative, swam twice as far and dispersed up to 12.3km further.
- Cocaine and its metabolites are increasingly present in rivers and lakes globally, entering waterways primarily through wastewater systems that cannot fully remove them.
- Researchers warn that these altered movement patterns could significantly impact ecosystems, though they confirm there is no risk to humans consuming fish.
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