'Cocaine Shark' Creator Says Real-Life Cracked-Out Sharks Are Great Promo

The people behind "Cocaine Shark" are totally amused by news of real-world sharks testing positive for coke, telling TMZ it's a case of life imitating art ... and art imitating life.

Filmmaker Bret McCormick says the bizarre news about some sharks in Brazil is great for him 'cause all those concerned about drug contamination in the waters will be curious to see if his film offers any solutions for a potential real-life crisis.

Translation: Bad PR for sharks is great publicity for him!

Not that Bret really needs more buzz -- he tells us "Cocaine Shark" already got tons of publicity thanks to "Cocaine Bear," which starred Ray Liotta and Keri Russell and blew up the same year as his film.

As for the situation in Brazil, scientists better not watch "Cocaine Shark" for guidance. Bret admits he has no idea how blow affects a shark’s nervous system, despite making the movie.

Hey, it's Hollywood! However, his best guess is it might make them more aggressive. Suffice it to say ... no one really wants to find out.

As we reported ... research teams collected 13 sharpnose sharks from fishermen off Rio de Janeiro -- and after cutting them open, they found their livers and muscles were loaded with cocaine.

No one’s confirmed where the coke came from, but people have their theories -- possibly nearby drug labs or drug smugglers who lost packages at sea.