Bonefish off the coast of Florida have tested positive for a cocktail of pharmaceutical drugs, including anti-depressants and blood pressure medications, according to a new study.
The three-year study was conducted by researchers at Florida International University and Bonefish & Tarpon Trust , a nonprofit based in Miami focused on bonefish and tarpon conservation, says a news release from the university. Bonefish are a family of fish found throughout the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and tarpons are found in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans.
Read More"These findings are truly alarming," Jennifer Rehage, a coastal and fish ecologist and associate professor at the university, said in the release."Pharmaceuticals are an invisible threat, unlike algal blooms or turbid waters. 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.