Posted BY: Billy M | NwoReport
Fish off the coast of Florida are testing positive for a slew of pharmaceuticals as human wastewater makes its way out into the sea.
Researchers at Florida International University and the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust – a nonprofit based in Miami and focused on bonefish and tarpon conservation – studied the two types of fish found in Biscayne Bay and the Florida Keys since 2018.
They collected blood and tissue samples from 93 bonefish and tarpon in the area, and found that each one had an average of seven drugs in its system – including antidepressants, blood pressure medications, prostate treatment medications, antibiotics and pain relievers.
Trending: Rolling blackouts to affect over a billion people as energy crisis worsens
One fish even had a total of 17 different drugs in its tissues, the study found, and the researchers found pharmaceuticals in the bonefish prey – including crabs and shrimp.
These drugs can affect every aspect of fish life, including their feeding habits, sociability and migratory behavior – threatening the already diminishing bonefish population in the area.
‘These findings are truly alarming,’ Jennifer Rehaga, a coastal and fish ecologist and associate professor at the university said in a statement.
‘Pharmaceuticals are an invisible threat, unlike algal blooms or turbid waters,’ she explained.
‘Yet these results tell us that they are a formidable threat to our fisheries, and highlight the pressing need to address our longstanding wastewater infrastructure issues.’
Stop flushing your crazy meds. Turn them in at the pharmacy.
Unless the pharmacy regulations (as per Walgreens), have been changed, they don’t take back meds and if a subscriber wants to properly dispose of pharmaceuticals they must purchase a certain kind of envelope from them and mail them to a facility that processes unused medications. The pharmacies should be responsible and have mandatory instructions on proper disposal. However, most will just unconsciously and uncaringly flush as it’s easier and cheaper….