Drug smugglers using open waterways to move products may be affecting the health of sea life in the Gulf of Mexico

Scientists have detected fentanyl and other drugs in dozens of dolphins from the Gulf of Mexico, which could have large implications on the overall health of the oceans, they say. The research began in September 2020,

For there to be drugs in a dolphin means that the drugs are either in the water, or they’re in the prey that they’re consuming,” a researcher told a Texas news outlet.

Dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico have traces of human medications – including powerful opioids, muscle relaxants, and sedatives – in their fat, according to a new study that is sounding the alarm on pharmaceutical pollution and wastewater treatment.

A Texas A&M University research project has found traces of fentanyl in dead dolphins from the Gulf of Mexico. But researchers fear the dolphins that are affected by the deadly drug just may be scratching the surface.