Authorities reassess options as shark foils 3rd attempt to return it to sea
Bukang-i is back in the canal at Busan's North Port Waterfront Park on Thursday morning, having crossed a net barrier set up a day earlier to guide the shark back to the open sea.
This marks the second time the female dusky shark, an endangered species, has slipped past a barrier and returned after authorities attempted to lead it out to sea.
The shark's repeated returns have left authorities struggling to find a way to rescue the shark and return it to the outer sea amid signs of deteriorating health and drops in temperatures.
On Thursday morning, it was swimming between the outer floating barrier and an inner net near the canal entrance, local media reported. Additional nets still separated it from the stretch of the canal where it had previously stayed.
Authorities are now weighing their next move, including reinforcing the barriers for another attempt or capturing the shark and transporting it to open waters. But why the shark keeps returning remains unclear.
Wednesday's operation appeared to have succeeded, with officials wrapping up around 6:10 p.m. after determining that Bukang-i had left the canal toward Busan Port's Pier 1. Just five hours later, at around 11:05 p.m., it was spotted crossing the floating barrier installed to keep it from coming back.
Authorities had attached a net to pontoons and placed additional nets inside the canal to prevent a repeat of the second attempt, when the shark crossed a barrier net during high tide and returned.
For the latest operation, officials used nets, pontoons and divers to guide Bukang-i toward Pier 1, choosing the opposite direction from earlier efforts to account for the underwater terrain.
The setback comes amid mounting concerns about the shark's health. The National Institute of Fisheries Science has not observed it feeding, while apparent injuries and footage of it striking a canal wall have raised concerns about its condition. Falling water temperatures have added urgency to efforts to return it to sea.
Bukang-i was first spotted in the canal on Sept. 18. Earlier attempts to guide it out on Sept. 29 and Oct. 2 were unsuccessful.
tammy@heraldcorp.com