Authorities halt daily monitoring as Busan shark goes unseen for 4 days
Summary
Marine authorities shifted to responding to public sightings of Bukangi in Busan after monitoring teams failed to spot the dusky shark for four consecutive days. The roughly 3-meter-long female had spent more than a month in an artificial waterway at North Port Waterfront Park before being seen near the Busan Port International Passenger Terminal. Officials stopped further intervention after the shark returned to the waterway following a third attempt to guide it out, and whether it has reached open water remains unclear.
Key Facts
- The National Institute of Fisheries Science suspended routine field monitoring and assembled a standby team to investigate public sightings.
- Bukangi was first found in the park’s waterway on Sept. 18, and authorities made three attempts to guide it toward open water.
- After disappearing from view on Oct. 23, the shark was spotted near the passenger terminal around noon the next day, about 2 kilometers from the channel entrance.
- The shark was last observed near the terminal through Monday and was swimming normally with no apparent health concerns.
- Dusky sharks favor water temperatures between 18 and 26 degrees Celsius; the water near the terminal measured 19.4 degrees at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
Bukangi the shark swims inside an artificial waterway at Busan’s North Port Waterfront Park, Oct. 22, after passing through a barrier and returning to the channel following a third attempt to guide it out the previous day. Yonhap
Korean marine authorities have shifted from daily monitoring to responding to public sightings of Bukangi, a dusky shark named after the North Port waterway in which it was found, after monitoring teams failed to spot it for four consecutive days, officials said Friday.
The shark had spent more than a month in an artificial waterway at Busan’s North Port Waterfront Park.
The National Institute of Fisheries Science said it had suspended routine field monitoring around the port and assembled a standby team to investigate sightings reported by the public.
With the shark roaming farther and spending longer underwater, tracking its movements had become increasingly difficult for the small monitoring team, the institute said.
The roughly 3-meter-long female was first discovered in the park’s waterway on Sept. 18. Authorities made three attempts to guide it toward open water, concerned that the narrow channel was unsuitable for a prolonged stay.
Following the third attempt on Oct. 21, Bukangi slipped through a barrier back into the waterway and continued circling near its entrance. Officials halted further intervention to allow the shark to leave on its own.
It disappeared from view on Oct. 23, then was spotted again around noon the next day near the Busan Port International Passenger Terminal, about 2 kilometers from the channel entrance. The shark was observed near the terminal through Monday, swimming normally with no apparent health concerns.
Monitoring teams have not spotted it since Tuesday, despite extending their search to areas including Pier 5. Public sightings were reported that day, but none have been received since Wednesday.
Experts suggest Bukangi is exploring a wider area as it adjusts to deeper waters beyond the shallow channel.
“As Bukangi’s range has expanded, the likelihood of spotting it in the waters off the port has become very low,” an institute official said.
Cooling waters may also have prompted the shark to move. Dusky sharks favor water temperatures between 18 and 26 degrees Celsius. Near the terminal where Bukangi was last seen, the temperature fell to 19.4 degrees Celsius at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
Whether the shark has left the port for open water remains unclear.
“We would need to wait about a week from when it disappeared from view before concluding that it has moved out to open water,” the official said.
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