South Korea’s oceans ministry said on Wednesday that the shark nicknamed Bukhangi had been guided towards the southern exit of Busan’s North Port Waterfront Park. Dump Bangkok Post, after AFP. An operation, not a confirmed release into open sea.

The statement, cited by AFP: a net barrier, so it does not come back. It is now swimming outside the artificial channel, in deeper water, less exposed to the cold. The canal where it had been stuck: about three metres deep. The species, after AFP: a dusky shark, about three metres. The AFP photograph speaks of 3.5 metres. Two lengths. We stay with the body of the report.

It was seen last month. The ministry, in a 20 October note: first spotted on 18 September. Two earlier attempts, water jets and nets, failed. The third, Wednesday morning, because the water was cooling. A spokesperson: experts had not seen it eat and it seemed to have trouble keeping its balance. Signs, not a published diagnosis.

Yonhap: around 6 p.m. it was spotted near a pier, outside the canal. The water by the pier, the agency says, is not considered open sea. Authorities hope it will go farther. That is not the same as “back in the sea.” The Korea Herald wrote “open sea”; we do not mix the clocks.

More than 1.6 million visitors. Mayor Chun Jae-soo thanked it for publicity that, he said, would otherwise have cost “trillions.” A quote, not an audit. Environmental groups: the appearance is a climate warning, not a show.

The nets stay in place; monitoring continues. Dump Bangkok Post. The rewrite rests on AFP/Bangkok Post and Yonhap.

Image: a fishing harbour, Busan, 23 August 2007, Syced, CC0, Wikimedia Commons. The fishing harbour, not Wednesday’s North Port canal.

Sources consulted: Busan authorities guide shark out of canal on third attempt — Yonhap.