A champion junior surfer has undergone surgery after he was attacked by a bull shark at East Ballina on the NSW north coast on Tuesday evening.
Sam Morgan, 20, sustained serious wounds to his left thigh after he was bitten by a shark while surfing off Lighthouse Beach at 6.25pm, police said.
At least 11 other shark attacks have taken place on the same stretch of coast this year, including two fatal attacks.
Mr Morgan, who has a World Surf League junior ranking this year of 33, was surfing alone when he was bitten on the thigh.
Inspector Nicole Bruce, from the Richmond local area command, said a person on the beach heard Mr Morgan scream, before the surfer made his own way out of the water.
"He was the only surfer in the water. A person on the beach heard him scream and saw him stumble out of the water. He has come out of the water with a large bite wound to his left thigh," Inspector Bruce said.
Emergency services were called to the scene and a rescue chopper transported Mr Morgan to Gold Coast University Hospital.
Mr Morgan underwent surgery and is in a stable condition although remains in an induced coma, according to a NSW Police statement.
Cooper Ivey, 12, was on the beach at the time and witnessed the attack.
"The surfer was out in the water all by himself," he said.
Once emergency services arrived on the beach, Cooper retrieved the man's surfboard and carried it over to police.
Teeth marks are clearly visible around one of the board's back fins.
The beach has been closed for a minimum of 24 hours.
Ballina Mayor David Wright said the man was a well-known local.
"We feel a little bit better now that we know he'll be all right," Cr Wright said.
A shark biologist from the Department of Primary Industries was already in Ballina and identified the type of shark involved in the attack almost immediately.
The bull shark was approximately 2.8 to 3.1 metres in length, according to the Department of Primary Industries.
Two DPI experts have spent the last few days tagging sharks in the area.
There were three shark sightings in the area on Tuesday, according to Shark Reports, a community-run shark alerts service.
"In shock tonight with the news that Sam Morgan has been attacked at North Wall this evening. We are all thinking of you mate and praying that you will be OK," posted local surfing community group La-Ba Boardriders on Facebook.
"Thoughts and prayers go out to North Coast surfer Sam Morgan who was an unfortunate victim of a shark attack this afternoon. Our thoughts are with you and the entire North Coast surfing community," Surfing NSW posted to Facebook.
"Oh Sam wishing you a speedy recovery mate," Jane Carr commented on the Le-Ba Boardriders post.
"Praying for you Sammy and the rest of your family," wrote Joe McDonald.
Ballina has been rocked by numerous shark attacks this year.
Cr Wright said he hoped the NSW government would now fast track plans to fit out Lighthouse Beach with specially designed eco-shark nets.
"At least now the state government can see we have a problem," he said.
Cr Wright said the beach was scheduled to be measured for the nets next week.
"We should have the nets in place by Christmas," he said.
Between February and August there have been 11 shark attacks along a 20-kilometre stretch of northern NSW with Ballina, in the middle, bearing the brunt.
Two people have died and three have been seriously mauled over this seven month period.
In February, a 41-year-old Japanese national, Tadashi Nakahara, died after an attack at Shelly Beach.
A "kill order" was authorised for the great white shark that mauled 32-year-old bodyboarder Matt Lee at Lighthouse Beach in July.
Lee suffered significant injuries to his lower legs as a result of the attack.
"Something has got to be done," Cr Wright said in August.
"People have got to be protected and we've got to get on top of this thing quickly so that Ballina does not become a byword for shark attack," he said.
Do you know more? scoop@smh.com.au
- with Megan Levy
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