Surfer critically injured by shark off Australian town

All beaches within Ballina Shire will be closed for the next 24 hours.

Mr O’Brien said patrols of Lennox Head beaches were conducted throughout the morning.

It was believed a four-metre great white shark was responsible for the attack, which resulted in severe lacerations to both of Mr Lee’s legs and significant blood loss.

Junior surf competition, the Skullcandy Oz Grom Open, which kicked off on Friday morning at Lennox Head has been cancelled for the day, event organiser Tony O’Brien said.

A NSW Police spokeswoman said initial reports to police suggested the surfer was knocked off his board, but, when officers arrived at the beach, the surfer had already left.

George Burgess, director of the Florida Programme for Shark Research, said the bites were unlikely to be the work of a single animal. In a statement, the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter team related that their chopper had been re-tasked, helping to aid in the search for the shark.

A bodyboarder has undergone surgery in a Queensland hospital after being mauled by a shark on the NSW north coast that may have been a great white.

The owner of Lighthouse Beach Cafe said locals banded together to help the man.

At the request of police, the Department of Primary Industries issued a permit, known as a Section 37 notice, which allows the killing of a protected species, like a white shark.

Ballina Shire Council mayor David Wright, who was on the beach, told Fairfax Media that reports on the beach suggested the man’s surfboard had been broken in two on Friday morning.

“A helicopter and paramedics are on the scene”.

“I couldn’t see the extent of his injuries (at first) because he had a full length wetsuit on”.

“He just said it took forever for them to come and get him”, the man said.

“They were really good, the two mates”.

“We went down [to the shore] and there was a bunch of surfers around him, and [I] just looked at the bottom of his board and one of his fins was missing”, he said. He was a fair mess.

‘Not one person has mentioned to me about trying to hurt the sharks.