Prawns and shrimps in the UK are getting high on anti-depressants thanks to rising levels of drug waste in coastal waters, experts say.
According to a report in The Age, drugs like Prozac are ending up in the sea around British towns through waste water, affecting the behaviour of local marine life.
The Sun reported that scientists at Portsmouth University exposed shrimps to the same levels of fluoxetine – the agent in Prozac – as they found in waste water. They found sea creatures were five times more likely to swim up to light when exposed to drugs, putting them at risk of being eaten by fish or birds.
“It’s no surprise that what we get from the pharmacy will be contaminating the waterways,” said Dr Alex Ford.
“Crustaceans are crucial to the food chain. If behaviour is being changed this could seriously upset the balance of the ecosystem.”
