Busan and related agencies are sending 105 workers to Busan North Port every day to monitor the condition of a dusky shark nicknamed "Bukangi," which has stayed in the port for nearly a month. The city has also formed a standby team that can respond within three minutes if the shark shows signs of ill health.
Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo said on the 13th on SBS Radio's "Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show" that "with the city of Busan in overall charge, 105 people from the Busan Facilities Management Corporation, the Dong-gu district office, the police, the coast guard, the fire service, the National Institute of Fisheries Science and the Busan Port Authority come out to the site every day to monitor Bukangi's safety."
An emergency response system is also in place. "A few days ago, through a meeting with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and other related agencies, we prepared special steps and emergency measures in case even the slightest sign of concern appears in Bukangi's health," Jeon said. "We have made every preparation so that if an emergency occurs, we can arrive within three minutes and take action."
Concerns over the shark's health lie behind the large deployment. "The sea temperature is falling now, and from what we have confirmed, there has been no trace of feeding since Sept. 18," Jeon said. "We are also starting to see some stereotypical behavior, with the shark moving back and forth only within a certain stretch, so we are gradually worried about whether there is a health problem."
On the shark going nearly a month without eating, however, Jeon said, "I was told that a dusky shark can go without eating anything for about a month," adding that "physically, it is in very good health." He also stressed that "we are preparing to help Bukangi return in good health to where it originally lived."
Bukangi first appeared at North Port on Sept. 18 and has since become a local attraction in Busan. "More than 1.4 million people visited North Port through yesterday," Jeon said with a smile. "Bukangi has given us publicity that we might not be able to buy even by spending hundreds of billions of won, so Busan residents are calling Bukangi a lucky charm."
"Restaurants and coffee shops around Busan Station, which is a seven- or eight-minute walk from North Port, are now enjoying an unexpected boom," he said. "We have invested more than 90 billion won to build a waterfront park, the Busan Opera House will open soon and a dome arena is planned as well, as we try to make North Port the heart of Busan as a maritime capital. Bukangi has come and raised North Port's profile nationally and globally, and we feel a level of gratitude that words cannot express."
Meanwhile, as the shark's stay in the man-made channel grows longer, worries are mounting over falling water temperatures and securing food. Dusky sharks mainly live in waters of 18 to 26 degrees Celsius, and coastal temperatures are gradually dropping as autumn sets in. Experts say that if the water temperature falls below 15 degrees, the environment could become unsuitable for a dusky shark to remain.