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Korean city continues trying to free shark from canal

SEOUL, South Korea -- A city in South Korea was trying Thursday to come up with a new way to free a huge dusky shark out of a narrow canal. Workers in the port city of Busan had herded the shark, nicknamed Bukangi, out of the canal the day before, after weeks of trial and error -- only for it to swim right back in hours later.

Now Busan authorities and the country’s Oceans and Fisheries Ministry are determined to guide Bukangi back to open water, saying it is critical for the shark’s safety and health.

The unconventional rescue effort on Wednesday involved dozens of workers maneuvering a floating platform through the canal to push the 10-foot female shark out. After lingering in nearby waters for hours, the shark swam beneath an outer barrier net installed on the platform that night and reentered the waterway.

According to officials, Bukangi is now stuck between that net and a second one about 50 yards into the mouth of the canal, with on-site inspectors and rescuers debating ways to guide it back out as the shark circles the small patch of water.

Lee Gwang-seok, an official with the Oceans and Fisheries Ministry, said Bukangi was unlikely to slip past more barriers and move farther up the canal, considering the density of the nets and the narrow waterway in that section that leaves little room for the shark to squeeze through.

There were no signs that the shark had been feeding regularly during its monthlong stay in the canal, and falling water temperatures could pose additional health risks, officials say.

The local Busan authorities did not immediately say when a new rescue effort for Bukangi would proceed.

Scientists perplexed

Sharing the Korean name of Busan’s North Port, where it was first spotted in mid-September, Bukangi had become a major tourist attraction as it slowly circled the canal, its fins slicing through the water’s surface.

Busan officials, who made Bukangi a city mascot, say the shark attracted more than 1.7 million visitors to the canal, and hundreds of people lined up along the canal on Wednesday to watch the unusual rescue effort.

Marine scientists don’t have a clear answer as to why the shark entered the canal, or why it has stayed.

Its behavior may have something to do with Busan being one of Asia’s busiest ports -- away from the ruckus, the narrow canal may appear to be a safe space, according to Kim Hyun-woo, a senior researcher at South Korea’s National Institute of Fisheries Science.