Bukang, the shark that has been staying at the Busan North Port Waterfront Park for 16 days, has crossed over a net and returned to the inside of the waterway just a day later.
Relevant authorities, including the Busan Metropolitan Government and the Busan Maritime Police Station, carried out a rescue operation yesterday (October 2) using large nets to send Bukang back out to sea.
After an operation on September 29 to guide the shark toward the sea by spraying water near it failed, authorities this time deployed a 50-meter-long and 6.8-meter-high net, dragging it to encourage Bukang to move outside the waterway.
However, about 150 meters away from the waterway exit, the operation was suspended after about two hours when the net snagged on rocks at the bottom.
Concluding that forcing the net might tear it, the rescue team secured the net about 100 meters inside from the waterway exit and was preparing follow-up measures.
Yet, Bukang, which had been prowling around the net, crossed over it and headed back inside the waterway at around 12:00 PM today.
The National Institute of Fisheries Science estimates that Bukang crossed the net taking advantage of the rising water level during high tide, which was higher than when the net was initially installed.
As Bukang has returned to the inside of the waterway, the rescue authorities face deeper concerns.
An official from the Busan Metropolitan Government stated, "We will first proceed with removing the net and then discuss future measures with the National Institute of Fisheries Science, the Coast Guard, and the Busan Facilities Corporation."
The cumulative number of visitors to the North Port Waterfront Park from September 19, the day after Bukang first appeared, through yesterday was tallied at 765,800.
With Bukang returning inside the waterway, a large number of visitors are also expected to visit North Port over the National Foundation Day (Gaecheonjeol) long weekend.
(Reported by Park Se-won | Video by Jung Kyoung-moon | Video Editing by Na Hong-hee | Design by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News)
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