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BUSAN, South Korea: A second attempt to guide a shark stranded in a canal in the South Korean port city of Busan back to the open sea ended without success on Friday, with the animal staying in the waterway into a third week.<\/p>\n
Rescuers, who had been using a net to try to coax it out, had to end the operation after a two hour chase due to the risk of their huge net getting caught on rocks.<\/p>\n
They now hope that the shark will eventually swim out to the open sea on its own, after leaving the net in place to limit how far back up the canal it can swim.<\/p>\n
The 3.5-meter (11.48-ft) shark was first spotted in a narrow waterway at North Port on September 18.<\/p>\n
Nicknamed \u201cBukangi,\u201d which is derived from \u201cBuk Hang\u201d, the Korean name for \u2060North Port, and \u2060the Korean suffix \u201c-i,\u201d about 600,000 people have flocked to the area to see the shark.<\/p>\n
Experts say it could be a bronze whaler, a species typically found in warm temperate waters and which has been seen off South Korea\u2019s coasts.<\/p>\n
FIFTY METER NET<\/p>\n
The shark\u2019s prolonged stay drew particular attention because of the unusual location. The narrow canal is situated in North Port, close to high-rise buildings and a major high-speed rail station in the heart of Busan.<\/p>\n
Authorities first attempted to guide the shark toward the sea on Tuesday using vessels equipped with water \u2060jets, but the shark swam away from jets and remained in the canal.<\/p>\n
For the second attempt, authorities used a 50-meter-long and 6.8-meter-high net to prevent the shark from turning back toward the canal.<\/p>\n
A vessel pulled the center of the net while five people on each side moved along the waterfront, coordinating their speed to guide the shark toward the sea.<\/p>\n
But the shark remained in the canal. The net now limits the shark to swimming in a 100 meter stretch that leads to the sea.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the water level changes and the current shifts, we expect the shark may eventually be able to make its own way out,\u201d said Kim Hyun-woo, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Fisheries Science who has been leading the operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce we confirm that it has completely left the canal and made its way out into the \u2060open sea, we can \u2060consider the operation a success.\u201d<\/p>\n
LOCALS FLOCK TO SEE SHARK<\/p>\n
Noise, lights and electrical signals could have been making it difficult for the shark to find its way out, he said. \u201cFor the shark, there are just too many external physical stimuli coming from different directions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hundreds of people gathered along the waterway to watch the rescue on Friday. Some visitors said they would be sad to see it leave, while others said the shark should be returned to the sea and its natural habitat as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do hope it eventually heads back out to the open sea. But I guess it likes Busan, too, since it\u2019s still here,\u201d Busan resident Jo Won-ho said.<\/p>\n
Bukangi\u2019s appearance has also drawn attention to changes in the waters around South Korea.<\/p>\n
Experts have pointed to warming sea temperatures as one possible factor behind the growing number of large shark sightings.<\/p>\n
An analysis by the National Institute of Fisheries Science found 46 sightings of large sharks along the country\u2019s east coast during the first half of this year, compared with 12 over the same period last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n