A second attempt to guide a shark stuck in a canal in South Korea’s Busan for three weeks back to the open sea has failed.
The 3.5m shark was first spotted in a canal in Busan’s North Port on 18 September.
Experts say the shark, nicknamed “Buk Hang”, could be a bronze whaler, a species that is usually found in the warm waters off South Korea’s coasts.
It grabbed attention due to its prolonged stay in the canal, which is close to high-rise buildings and a major high-speed rail station in Busan.
South Korean authorities attempt to guide stranded shark out of canal, in Busan (Reuters)
A team of rescuers first attempted to push the shark out using vessels equipped with water jets, but it continued to swim away from the jets.
In the latest attempt, rescuers tried to coax the shark out using a giant 50-metre-long net, but after two hours of chasing the animal, they called off the effort due to the risk of the net getting caught on rocks.
The centre of the large net was pulled using a vessel along the waterfront, while rescuers tugged on each side of the net.
The team coordinated their speed to guide the shark toward the sea, but it remained in the canal.
South Korean authorities attempt to guide stranded shark out of canal, in Busan (Reuters)
Authorities initially planned to pump jets of water from another vessel behind the net to push the shark toward the exit, but decided against it to avoid stressing the animal.
Rescuers have left the net in position in the canal to limit how far up the canal the shark can swim.
Now, they hope the shark will swim out on its own to the sea.
“As the water level changes and the current shifts, we expect the shark may eventually be able to make its own way out,” Kim Hyun-woo, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Fisheries Science who was leading the operation, told Reuters.
“Once we confirm that it has completely left the canal and made its way out into the open sea, we can consider the operation a success,” he said.
Experts suspect that lights, noise, and electrical signals could be making it difficult for the shark to find its way out,
“For the shark, there are just too many external physical stimuli coming from different directions,” Mr Hyun-woo said.
The shark’s presence in the canal has also raised questions about the impact of climate change on the waters around South Korea.
Warming global sea temperatures are suspected to be a possible factor behind the growing number of large shark sightings.
Nearly 50 large shark sightings have been made along the country’s east coast in the first half of 2026, compared to only 12 over the same period last year.