3.5m-long shark attracts visitors after wandering into Busan waterfront park
A 3.5-metre-long shark has attracted attention after it was spotted swimming in the waterway at North Port Waterfront Park in Dong-gu, Busan, South Korea.
First spotted on Friday (18 Sept), the shark, later named Bukang-i, brought numerous visitors to the port over the weekend.
Source: Yonhap
According to the Busan Metropolitan City Government, nearly 20,000 people visited the waterfront park on Saturday (19 Sept) and Sunday (20 Sept). Out of this number, 10,000 flocked to the area on Sunday alone.
Online videos captured the animal swimming near the surface as the crowds gathered along the banks to watch.
Officials tried to guide it back to open sea
South Korea’s National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS) initially claimed that the animal was a copper shark.
However, experts said the shark’s exact species remains unconfirmed, South China Morning Post reported.
Busan officials and the Coast Guard tried to guide the shark back to open water on Friday, but NIFS warned that forcing it out could lead to aggression.
They subsequently halted the efforts and let the shark remain in the area, but will keep watch on its health and swimming ability, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
Source: Yonhap
Spanning 1.6 kilometres long with a curved layout, the shallow waterway’s unique geometry is largely why the shark has remained trapped inside.
“It keeps running into the concrete walls on both sides of the waterway, leaving it unable to find its way out and causing it to circle,” said Kim Hyun-woo, a researcher at the NIFS.
Animal likely followed its prey to Busan
Mr Kim shared that the shark likely reached Busan from Jeju Island as warming waters, driven by climate change, pushed its prey further north.
Source: Google Maps
It may have followed warm-water prey fish into the inner part of the waterway while foraging.
Meanwhile, Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo believes that the shark’s presence indicates that the ecological system of Busan North Port is very clean.
Authorities to guide it back to open water after Chuseok holiday
Representatives from the Busan City Government, Coast Guard, Port Authority, and NIFS met Tuesday (22 Sept) to discuss plans to guide the shark back to the open sea.
This was after the shark showed signs of long-term stay in the waterway, SBS reported.
They are closely monitoring the shark and plan to guide it out safely after the Chuseok holiday, which lasts from Thursday (24 Sept) through Sunday (27 Sept), if it doesn’t navigate back on its own.
Source: Korea JoongAng Daily
Authorities also implemented safety controls to prepare for a potential surge of visitors, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.
These include restricting access to pedestrian bridges over the water and deploying around 50 personnel to manage the crowd.
In addition, the sighting of a 1-metre fish in the waterway sparked online speculation that the shark had given birth, though experts dismissed it as highly improbable.
Nevertheless, officials will further determine whether the fish is connected to the shark.
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Featured image adapted from Yonhap via Korea JoongAng Daily and Yonhap via The Korea Herald.
