Salmon are being 'driven wild' by cocaine pollution, new study finds

Salmon are being 'driven wild' by cocaine pollution, new study findsDrug-crazed salmon are swimming twice as far and spreading out into new areas after being exposed to cocaine pollution from humans, a worrying new study has revealedNewsBenedict Tetzlaff-Deas News Reporter and Stephen Beech16:00, 20 Apr 2026Updated 16:04, 20 Apr 2026View 2 ImagesA new study has revealed the impact of cocaine pollution on salmon behaviour (file photo)(Image: Jörgen Wiklund / SWNS)Cocaine pollution from humans is sending salmon into a 'frenzy', a new study has revealed.‌Traces of the illegal drug in their natural habitat are altering the way fish interact with their environment, according to scientists, with Juvenile Atlantic salmon swimming greater distances and spreading more widely as a direct result of exposure to narcotics, the findings show.‌The study, published in the journal Current Biology, is the first to demonstrate the effects of cocaine contamination on fish behaviour in the wild rather than under laboratory conditions.‌To establish how pollutants affected animal movement, an international team of researchers used slow-release chemical implants and acoustic tracking to monitor 105 juvenile Atlantic salmon over eight weeks in Lake Vättern, Sweden.View 2 ImagesCocaine is increasingly being detected in rivers and lakes across the globe (file photo)(Image: GETTY)READ MORE: French Bulldogs, Labradors and Spaniels falling out of favour in UK, list showsREAD MORE: Animal testing HORROR as harrowing photos show monkeys, pigs and dogs in crying in painThe fish were divided into one of three treatment groups: a control group, a group exposed to cocaine, and a group exposed to benzoylecgonine, the primary metabolite of cocaine that is commonly detected in wastewater.‌Researchers discovered that fish exposed to benzoylecgonine swam up to 1.9 times further per week than unexposed fish and dispersed up to 12.3 kilometres (7.6 miles) wider across the lake. They noted...