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.
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The 20-year-old was surfing at Lighthouse Beach around 6.15pm, when it is believed that the attack occurred. Morgan was bitten on the left thigh but was able to make it back to the beach, where he was assisted by several off-duty lifesavers. Police have closed Lighthouse Beach for 24 hours and have been investigating the attack.
His surf lifesaving club, Le-Ba Boardriders Club, called for more shark detection and deterrent measures in the area.
According to biologists, it is likely the attacker was a bull shark, between 2.8 and 3.1 metres in length.
A SURFER has been flown to the Gold Coast after he suffered serious leg injuries from a suspected shark attack off the NSW far north coast.
He said the injury was in a similar place to where shark attack victim Mat Lee was bitten. “We are all thinking of you mate and praying that you will be OK”.
“We now go into a 24-hour beach closure”.
Ballina Mayor David Wright told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper he hoped the New South Wales government would now fast-track plans to install eco-shark nets.
“We need the state government to help us out with helicopter flight patrols”.
The spate of attacks as well as numerous shark sightings in the region prompted the New South Wales state government to launch a new five-year programme to monitor sharks off its beaches. Japanese surfer Tadashi Nakahara, 41, was killed at Shelly Beach on February 9.
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“Something has got to be done”, Cr Wright said in August. “If we don’t have many flights it means we aren’t getting protected”, Wright said on Wednesday.
