REDFISH ON DRUGS

Last year, results of a threeyear study indicated a shocking presence of drugs found in bone sh of the Florida Keys. It comes as little surprise that Florida International University (FIU) and Bone sh & Tarpon Trust (BTT) have recently completed a year-long study that also discovered pharmaceutical contaminants in the blood and other tissues of red sh in Florida waters.

“ e results underscore the urgent need to modernize Florida’s wastewater treatment systems,” said BTT President and CEO Jim McDu e. “Humanbased contaminants like these pose a signi cant threat to Florida’s recreational shery, which has an annual economic impact of $13.9 billion and directly supports more than 120,000 jobs.”

Scientists and volunteer guides and anglers sampled red sh in nine of Florida’s most important estuaries: Pensacola, Apalachicola, Cedar Key, Tampa Bay, Charlotte Harbor, Florida Bay, Northern Indian River Lagoon (IRL), St. Augustine and Jacksonville.

Similar to results of the previous bone sh study, pharmaceuticals were found in all of the estuaries sampled, with an average number of 2.1 drugs per sh and a maximum of ve. Only seven out of the 113 sampled sh had zero drugs in their system. On average, 25.7 percent of the sh exceeded a level of pharmaceuticals considered safe, which equates to one-third of the therapeutic levels in humans.

“ ese studies of bone sh and red sh are the rst to document the concerning presence of pharmaceuticals in species that are important to Florida’s recreational sheries,” said Dr. Jennifer Rehage, FIU professor and the study’s lead researcher. “Given the impacts of many of these pharmaceuticals on other sh species and the types of pharmaceuticals found, we are concerned about the role pharmaceuticals play in the health of our sheries. We will continue this work to get more answers to these concerning questions.”

Cardiovascular medications, opioid pain relievers and psychoactive medications were most commonly detected. e antiarrhythmic medication ecainide and the opioid pain reliever tramadol were detected in over 50 percent of the red sh. e antipsychotic medication upentixol was detected above safe levels in one in ve of the red sh samples. ese are very concerning levels of exposure for red sh.

Approximately ve billion prescriptions are lled each year in the U.S., yet there are no environmental regulations for the production nor disposal of pharmaceuticals worldwide. Pharmaceutical contaminants originate most o en from human wastewater and are not su ciently removed by conventional water treatment. ey remain active at low doses, can be released constantly, and exposure can a ect all aspects of sh behavior, with negative consequences for their reproduction and survival. Pharmaceutical contaminants have been shown to a ect all aspects of the life of sh, including their feeding, activity, sociability, and migratory behavior.

“Florida is a leader in addressing water quality issues and wastewater infrastructure, including converting septic systems to sewage treatment,” said Kellie Ralston, BTT’s Vice President for Conservation and Public Policy. “ e results of this study indicate that there are additional opportunities for improvement by retro tting existing wastewater treatment plants with innovative technologies, like ozone treatment, to remove pharmaceuticals and requiring such technology on new wastewater facilities.”

For more information, go to www.bone shtarpontrust.org.