Missing 'Bukang-i': Foul Odor Spreads Across Open Waters

Bukang-i, a shark that ventured outside the artificial waterway of the Busan North Port Waterfront Park and has been frequently spotted around the area, has been missing for a long time today (October 23).

According to relevant authorities including the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Bukang-i has not been sighted around the waterfront park since around 8:00 AM today.

On October 21, Bukang-i moved outside the Marina Bridge exit of the waterfront park waterway through the authorities' third open-sea guidance operation, but then squeezed back inside the first containment net set up by the authorities.

Blocked by the second containment net, Bukang-i was seen swimming in and out of the waterway exit after the authorities removed the first containment net yesterday to open up an escape route.

Authorities have installed a double-net barrier 80 to 90 meters inside from the exit.

Bukang-i, which had previously been spotted in the waters off Pier 1 outside the waterway or had gone missing for a while as if diving deep into the sea, was lingering in front of the barrier this morning as if trying to return to the inside of the waterway.

Experts explain that Bukang-i's prolonged disappearance is part of its process of adapting to a new environment, such as subaquatic diving in deeper areas outside the waterway.

They note that Bukang-i, having lived for over a month in the narrow and shallow waterway, is growing accustomed to the wide open ocean environment.

Choi Yoon, professor emeritus in the Department of Marine Bio-Resource Sciences at Kunsan National University, stated, "The lengthening of Bukang-i's diving time is a step in its adaptation to wide and deep water."

Professor Choi added, "It probably hasn't gone far yet," and "It could still appear around the waterfront park for at least a week."

Some observations also suggest that an oil spill incident that occurred today in the sea around the waterfront park may have influenced Bukang-i's sudden behavioral change.

According to the Busan Coast Guard, a report was received at around 12:32 PM today stating that oil had leaked into the sea near the waterfront park.

At the time of the report, an oil slick roughly 10 meters wide and 30 meters long had formed. While smaller in scale than a typical oil spill accident, it reportedly emitted a strong foul odor in the surrounding area.

The Coast Guard is blocking pollutants from flowing into the waterfront park waterway and is removing them using absorbent pads.

The location where the oil spill occurred is about 800 to 900 meters away in a straight line from the waterway exit where Bukang-i was spotted until this morning, placing it closer to the opposite exit.

However, the possibility has been raised that some of the oil may have drifted with the currents and affected Bukang-i, which possesses highly developed sensory organs.

Professor Choi explained, "Bukang-i, which has sensitive senses of smell and other faculties, may have detected it," adding, "Since it has come out into the open sea outside the waterway, there should be no problem for it to evade it."

(Photo provided by Busan Coast Guard, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.