Shark remains in Busan canal after rescue bid fails

BUSAN – Rescue efforts for a 3.5m shark stranded at North Port Waterfront Park in Dong-gu, Busan were called off on Sept 29 after rescuers failed to guide it towards the sea.The operation, which involved using water pumps to guide the shark out of the artificial waterway, began at 10am and continued until around noon before being temporarily suspended. A second attempt resumed later in the afternoon but ended at 3.30pm without success.Five vessels were deployed in the operation, which was jointly organised by the Busan city government, the Busan Coast Guard, the Busan Fire and Disaster Headquarters and other agencies. They included a 4.6-tonne patrol boat and a 3-tonne rescue boat.Crews sprayed water behind the shark to create foam, noise and vibrations, hoping the disturbance would prompt it to move away from the vessels and head towards the open sea.But the shark repeatedly swam back behind the vessels or disappeared beneath the surface.Officials said they observed no signs of health problems in the shark during the rescue operation.The rescue drew on a 2004 case in Massachusetts, where a great white shark stranded in a salt marsh was guided back to sea. The shark, measuring more than 4m, had been trapped for about two weeks, attracting attention from scientists and tourists.South Korea’s second most populous city plans to make another attempt on Oct 2 using a specially designed net to guide the shark back to sea.First spotted in a narrow canal at Busan’s North Port on Sept 18, the shark had drawn 568,800 visitors to the area as at Sept 28. It was soon given the affectionate nickname “Bukang-i”, referencing the Korean name for the North Port, Bukhang.As Bukang-i has grown into a local attraction, Busan has decided to make the shark an honorary city ambassador. The decision came after 91% of roughly 8,200 respondents to a city-run Instagram poll supported the proposal.Some question whether the shark should be left to find its own way back to sea. Experts, however, warn that prolonged confinement in the shallow, narrow waterway could put the animal at risk of death and say intervention is necessary.“Dusky sharks, the species Bukang-i belongs to, hunt for prey in waters as deep as 100m. It is not healthy for a wild animal like this to remain in such a confined channel for an extended period,” said Ji Hwan-sung, a researcher at the National Institute of Fisheries Science.The park’s artificial waterway stretches about 1.5km and is only 30m to 60m wide. Its depth ranges from about 2.5m at low tide to 4m at high tide. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK