In preparation for the coming throng (sadly, no thongs) during South Korea's yearly exodus to Haeundae beach, local government officials are deploying measures to prevent whites from visiting the beach.Great White Sharks that is.
The new measure comes in the wake of warnings from the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute of an increased presence of Great White Sharks off the coast from May to September when currents of warm water move closer to the Korean Peninsula.
The Busan Metropolitan City Fire Department said that it will purchase shark repelling devices from Australia for use just off the beach, which opens for swimming July 1st. (Why the fire department is dealing with water-related issues I have no idea. Perhaps the coast guard is too busy looking for swine-flu-infested-foreigners trying to swim from Japan to avoid quarantine.)
A government official said the device turns the shark's ability to sense magnetic pulses against it. "A shark catches preys (sic) by feeling a weak electric current from them. The device emits a very strong electric pulse to disorientate sharks." Thank you to the Korea Times for that sparkling translation.
The official added: "Haeundae has never had a shark sighting before, but there are chances of it because of the rise in seawater temperatures caused by global warming.''Personally, I attribute government worries more to the realization that fast food restaurants have grown 1000-fold over the past few years --thus making increasingly fatty-rich Koreans more appetizing to sea predators.
12 Comments:
i wonder how the,"masses," will respond to this. I could see it affecting beach goers. i wonder who will be the first to start selling personal shark repellent. I'm guessing it would look like some sort of fanny pack with a small car battery attached. Best case scenario though, maybe one of the sharks will eat the thong jetski guy...he's gotta go!
to answer d-rock, the masses will react as they always do, with mass hysteria. they will, as with sars, as with beef, and now, swine, OVERreact. thus, the number of beach goers will dwindle, leaving the beach open for sane, rational people to truly chill and relax. i do suspect that the east cost beaches further north may get traffic. they are smaller and less overpopulated, and i doubt sharks will go that far.
oh and bobby, that headline was a tad shocking. NICE!
The headline --fooled me. Bastard. very nice. haha
ahhh people in this country only wade four meters off from the shore anyway.
Why the fire department is dealing with water-related issues I have no idea.
I don't know why they're messing with sharks, but there is a Sea Fire Dept. that is responsible for dealing with fires aboard ships in the port.
Makes a change from the north American whales which are often spotted in the Haeundae shallows.
I read this in the newspaper today also. The sad part is, this story received more exposure than the guy in Gwangju who shot an 11-yr old boy, or the girl who committed suicide as a result of bullying. Guess its better to focus on sharks than serious domestic problems... Aish!
why don't they ban the yellow also...
the damn kids pissing in the waters, that is.
scare tactics = hype. Hype = attention. Attention = ratings.
Would 'white shark' skyler be able to visit?
In case no 1 has noticed, shark movies have been frequenting the tv these days in the way Koreans often respond to the news. some 1 is involved in a scandal, they show all their movies. I saw jaws 3 was on yesterday!
Apparently I have to stop telling people that coconuts kill more people than sharks every year.
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2405/are-150-people-killed-each-year-by-falling-coconuts
So thaaaaat's why they've uprooted all the coconut palms on Haeundae Beach.
JB
800,000 people at the beach in the summer from August 1-5. I'm more afraid of the pissy water not great whites.
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