Two surfers who fought off a three-metre great white shark that fatally attacked a 60-year-old Queenslander in northern NSW have been praised for their "heroic" attempt to save his life.
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The Gold Coast surfer died after being attacked by the shark at Salt Beach in South Kingscliff about 10am on Sunday.
The man received a bite to the back of his thigh and was then brought to the shore by a friend and another surfer who fought off the shark.
"They got him (the 60-year-old) on one of the boards and tried to stabilise him and take him to shore," Inspector Matthew Kehoe told reporters.
"The shark circled them for a period of time while they brought the gentleman into shore.
"Their actions were nothing short of heroic."
The victim was treated by paramedics once ashore but he died on the beach.
A shark biologist later on Sunday assessed photographs and confirmed a great white shark was responsible for the attack, the NSW Department of Primary Industries said in a statement.
NSW Police were granted permission to destroy the shark if necessary "due to concerns the shark had to be fought off by other board-riders and that it remained in the vicinity for several hours after the attack," a spokesperson said in a statement.
But after being monitored for several hours the shark left the area and has not been seen since. AAP has been told there are no plans to kill the shark.
Beaches between Kingscliff and Cabarita were cleared of swimmers and surfers and will remain closed for 24 hours.
NSW Ambulance Inspector Terence Savage says it's a "dreadful" situation for everyone involved.
"When you get a call to attend a shark attack, you never really know the full extent of the damage until you get on scene," he said in a statement on Sunday.
"They did everything they could to try and save his life, but despite their best efforts, were unable to do so."
There is a shark listening station opposite the Kingscliff surf club but "no tagged sharks were detected on this station today" or at the Byron Bay listening station some 50 kilometres south, the DPI said on Sunday.
There have now been three fatal shark attacks in Australia in 2020.
Gary Johnson, 57, an experienced diver was killed by a shark near Cull Island in Esperance on Western Australia's south coast in January.
A shark also killed 23-year-old Queensland ranger Zachary Robba in April off North West Island some 50km east of Rockhampton.
Australian Associated Press
