A couple of weeks ago, we had a report about how the mussels off the coast of Washington state were testing positive for Oxycontin and other drugs that are being over-used by local humans. Now there’s a report that the rare and endangered European eel is being put at additional risk because there’s apparently cocaine in the water.
According to the report, low levels of cocaine which are now being found in the waters where they make their home are “causing the eels to become hyperactive and suffer muscle damage, even after being given the opportunity to recover. ”
“This study shows that even low environmental concentrations of cocaine cause severe damage to the morphology and physiology of the skeletal muscle of the silver eel, confirming the harmful impact of cocaine in the environment that potentially affects the survival of this species.”
The concern is that this damage could make it harder for the eels to make the 3,700-mile trek to their spawning grounds, resulting in a complete die-off of the species.
In other news, someone has probably just created a really popular new sushi roll that will help you keep the party going.