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Cocaine Byproduct Drives Salmon to Travel 2× FurtherCocaine Byproduct Drives Salmon to Travel 2× Further

4/24/2026

Summary

Story summary

The study found benzoylecgonine, cocaine’s main metabolite, increased salmon movement more than the parent drug.
Researchers implanted 105 juvenile Atlantic salmon in Lake Vättern, Sweden, and tracked them for eight weeks.
Exposed fish swam up to 1.9 times farther weekly and dispersed about 12.3 km farther than controls.
Authors warned altered movement could affect feeding, predation and population distribution, and that wastewater plants often miss such residues.

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Story summary

The study found benzoylecgonine, cocaine’s main metabolite, increased salmon movement more than the parent drug.
Researchers implanted 105 juvenile Atlantic salmon in Lake Vättern, Sweden, and tracked them for eight weeks.
Exposed fish swam up to 1.9 times farther weekly and dispersed about 12.3 km farther than controls.
Authors warned altered movement could affect feeding, predation and population distribution, and that wastewater plants often miss such residues.