Cocaine powered salmon swim farther and live longer scientists warn ecosystems could change

Researchers watched drug exposed salmon outperform normal fish

A new study found Atlantic salmon exposed to cocaine swam farther and lived longer than normal salmon, raising alarms that pharmaceuticals in waterways can rewrite wildlife behavior. Scientists say this is more than pollution: it’s an ecosystem level transformation. Researchers warn that drug disposal and weak wastewater treatment could spread these effects across aquatic habitats worldwide unless urgent action is taken.