Scientists investigate whether 'cocaine sharks' are feasting on illegal drugs in Florida waters



Scientists have set out to determine if "cocaine sharks" are a real thing in the wild or if it just a potential title for a cheesy sci-fi flick.

In many cases, a drug dealer will dump the illegal narcotics off the boat and into the ocean if they suspect they are about to get caught by authorities. Tons of cocaine have been found floating in oceans just this year.

Italian officials confiscated more than 5 tons of cocaine floating in the ocean off the coast of Sicily this week, and another 2 tons in the water in April.

In May, approximately 80 bales of cocaine weighing 3.2 metric tons were found floating in the Pacific Ocean by New Zealand authorities. The capture was thought to be one of the country's largest drug busts in history.

Also in May, a boater found 16 bricks of cocaine floating off the coast of the Florida Keys.

In June, the U.S. Coast Guard announced it had seized 14,153 pounds of cocaine worth more than $186 million from nine separate cases in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

Scientists are now conducting research to determine if sharks are becoming addicted to cocaine.

Marine biologist Tom "The Blowfish" Hird and University of Florida environmental scientist Tracy Fanara conducted experiments in Florida to see if cocaine sharks are a possible concern.

The scientists conducted experiments over the course of six days off the coast of the Florida Keys – an area "prevalent" for floating bales of cocaine.

The scientists dropped dummy bales into the water. The decoys were the same size as cocaine bales, but contained a highly concentrated fish powder that would reportedly trigger a dopamine rush similar to a hit of cocaine, according to Fox News. The sharks allegedly went wild for the fake cocaine bales.

Hird and Fanara also observed hammerhead sharks in their natural environment, and claimed the sharks' behavior was unusual.

The Guardian said of the research, "A hammerhead, a species that would usually swim away from humans, came directly towards the divers, moving erratically. They also observed a sandbar shark swimming in circles as it focused on an imaginary object."

The research team filmed their experiments for the "Cocaine Sharks" documentary airing on Discovery's upcoming "Shark Week" programming.

Fanara said, "It's a catchy headline to shed light on a real problem, that everything we use, everything we manufacture, everything we put into our bodies, ends up in our wastewater streams and natural water bodies, and these aquatic life we depend on to survive are then exposed to that."

Fanara noted that sharks could be affected by other drugs, but cocaine is so soluble that it could be the most dangerous for aquatic life.

"We’ve seen studies with pharmaceuticals, cocaine, methamphetamines, ketamine, all of these, where fish are being [affected] by drugs," Fanara said.

"If these cocaine bales are a point source of pollution, it’s very plausible [sharks] can be affected by this chemical," she continued "Cocaine is so soluble that any of those packages open just a little, the structural integrity is destroyed and the drug is in the water."

Hird told Live Science, "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."

Fanara said more research must be done to determine if wildlife is being affected by drugs dumped into waterways. She plans to partner with other Florida marine scientists to take blood samples from some of the sharks to see if there is cocaine in their systems.

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‘Cocaine Sharks’ may be ingesting drugs dumped on Florida’s coast | Elizabeth Vargas Reports www.youtube.com

'Shark Week' is too white and too male, study finds — and the mockery that ensues is bloody hilarious



"Shark Week" — that beloved TV special that sinks its teeth into everything shark-related each summer — has joined the ever-growing conga line of familiar things woke folks insist are actually racist and sexist.

What are the details?

The Washington Post on Monday highlighted a recent Public Library of Science study claiming that "Shark Week," among other things, "overwhelmingly featured white men as experts — including several with the same name."

David Shiffman — a conservationist at Arizona State University and co-author of the study — told the Post that Discovery's "Shark Week" indeed included more white experts and commentators named Mike than women.

“When there are hundreds of people of color interested who work in this field, [and] when my field is more than half women, maybe it’s not an accident any more that they’re only featuring white men,” Shiffman added to the paper.

Lisa Whitenack, a biology professor at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., led the research team behind the study, and its members examined hundreds of “Shark Week” episodes from 1988 through 2020 to come up with their findings, the Post said.

The paper said Discovery didn't respond to its request for comment on the study — although the channel did tell WBTS in Boston after preliminary findings came to light in 2021 that it wouldn’t comment on a study “that has yet to pass any scientific approvals."

Whitenack, however, told the Post the study has since undergone a scientific review.

Not the first time

Scientists and TV critics bit down hard on "Shark Week" in 2020, the paper said, for featuring six white men out of eight named experts. Whitenack told the Post her team's study — which also commenced in 2020 — found that throughout almost all of the history of "Shark Week," over 90% of the 229 experts were white and about 78% were men.

The year of the criticism isn't so surprising, as readers of TheBlaze also may remember that 2020 saw a massive race-related reckoning amid rioting sparked by George Floyd's death, including changes in product imaging and branding:

What did folks have to say about the 'Shark Week' findings?

Mike Rowe of "Dirty Jobs" posted a rather funny reaction on Facebook Wednesday: "Good Morning. As a white male named Mike who hosted 'Shark Week' more than once, this headline caught my eye in The Washington Post ["'Shark Week' lacks diversity, overrepresents men named Mike, study finds"] ... I suspect I might be asked to respond specifically to this headline. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please leave them in the comments below. Unless of course, you’re a white guy named Mike. I think we’ve all heard quite enough from you…"

In addition, one might assume that those commenting on the Post's story would applaud the study, but a quick look at the comments says otherwise:

  • "Amazing research," one commenter wrote. "I'm hoping this woman now tries to cancel the Great White Shark as a clearly racist shark and sues Steven Spielberg for clearly emphasizing only Great Whites in his racist movie "Jaws.'"
  • "Discovery has not highlighted a single researcher who identifies as a shark, nor a shark who identifies as a researcher. Disgraceful!" another commenter said.
  • "Like all of wokeness, it’s narcissistic performance art by neurotic white people, for neurotic white people," another commenter observed.
  • "Meth is bad," another commenter quipped.
  • "I saw this headline being dunked on and immediately thought, 'Please don’t let this be the Post.' Is this a joke article, and I’m not seeing it??" another commenter wondered.
  • "This is basically an Onion article," another commenter noted. "The left just keeps creating parody of itself. Another example of how the progressive demand for racism outstrips actual supply."
  • "You have GOT to be kidding!" another commenter exclaimed. "This is an early April Fools prank, right? If not, pass the poisoned Kool-Aid, and let's just end it all now."
  • "Why is only the WHITE shark called 'great'?????" another commenter asked. "The ocean — so damn racist."

Here's a "Shark Week" clip. Content warning: Images of caucasian males as well as sharks with distinctly pale underbellies:

Five Great White Sharks Show Off Their Attack Skills | Shark Weekyoutu.be

A 1,000-pound great white shark is currently swimming along the Jersey shore



A massive great white shark has been recorded swimming off the coast of the Jersey Shore.

The shark has been named Ironbound, after the West Ironbound Island near Luneburg, Nova Scotia, where it was first spotted swimming, CNN reported.

Ironbound is said to be 12 feet, 4 inches long and is believed to weigh just under 1,000 pounds according to OCEARCH a nonprofit marine research group that provides open-source data about the migration pattern of sharks.

Ironbound was first tagged on October 3, 2019 in the waters around his namesake island near Nova Scotia. As part of its data collection process, OCEARCH goes through the elaborate process of capturing sharks and fitting them with electronic trackers that alert the organization to the shark’s whereabouts whenever they break the ocean surface.

Believed to be migrating north, Ironbound broke the surface of the waters off of the New Jersey coats at about 10:30 p.m. on April 28.

Ironbound is believed to be around 20 years old according to OCEARCH’s chief scientist Bob Hueter.

Despite his massive size, Ironbound is not the largest shark that OCEARCH has encountered.

Hueter said that OCEARCH has previously great white sharks as long as 17.5 feet that weigh 4,000 pounds.

Hueter said, “When we tagged him, he was impressive.”

Ironbound has traveled an estimated 13,000 miles since the nonprofit has begun tracking his movements.

Hueter said, “He’s gone back and forth from where we found him in Nova Scotia and the Florida Keys several times.”

The scientist explained that this is par the course for great white sharks as they tend to make this migration in the Atlantic Ocean each year. The sharks spend their summers in the northern waters near Canada and then make their way down south in the eastern Gulf of Mexico during the winter.

Hueter said that the migration “is an adaptation, of course, to seasonal temperature fluxes, to where the food is.” He also said that while marine scientists are not entirely sure where great white sharks mate, they have theorized that one place it happens is off the coast of the Carolinas during their migratory journeys.

"Mating season is over, we think, and Ironbound is on his way north to get into some good feeding ground and bulk up again for the next year," Hueter said.

"Sharks have been around for about 400 million years," Hueter said. "They in many cases occupy what's called the apex predator position, in marine food webs. Just like on land, that is an important role in terms of keeping the lower parts of the food web healthy and balanced."

Crowder's Thoughts on Capital Punishment and...Shark Jail? | Louder With Crowder

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Wild at Large: SHARKS! | Crowder Classics

Wild at Large: SHARKS! | Crowder Classics