A 5-metre great white shark has been caught and released near a popular surf spot on the state’s far north coast where a boardrider had a “miracle” escape.
Shocked onlookers at Cabarita Beach, including local yoga teacher Kym Falvey, watched as the man was launched from his board about 7:30am on Monday.
He emerged from the water with his board in two pieces, and missing a large, bite-shaped chunk of foam.Â
“The man was sitting on his board and the shark literally bit the board behind his butt,” Ms Falvey said.
“The board just popped, like it exploded, and it flew up in the air and by this time there was a man up on the rocks going, ‘Oi, come in.’
“The last time the shark came right into the shallows, so the surfers in the water were saying, ‘We didn’t want to stop paddling until we got onto the dry sand.'”
Loading…Shark caught and released
NSW Police have confirmed they are investigating reports of a shark incident in the area, where a 16-year-old boy was bitten by a shark in late June.
The NSW government’s SharkSmart App reported a 5-metre great white shark was hooked and released from a smart drum line at Cabarita Beach just before 10:00am on Monday.
Cabarita Beach has been closed following the shark-bite incident. (ABC News: Chris Kimball)
The SharkSmart website says target sharks hooked by a smart drum line are released “about 1 kilometre offshore”.
It says data from previous trials shows “relocated target sharks move away from the area for several months, before resuming their natural migratory path”.
Board ‘exploded’
Kane Douglas told the ABC he was paddling back out when his friend was hit by the shark.
Kane Douglas was paddling back out when his friend was attacked by a shark at Cabarita Beach. (ABC North Coast: Hannah Ross)
“The board exploded, one half went that way, the other half went that way, there was just whitewash and debris everywhere,” he said.
“It all happened so fast, it still hasn’t really processed … what happened and how quickly.
“You grow up surfing, you think about sharks and they are out there but to see one so big this close in is pretty rare.
“It was such a big shark, when you see the footage of it, it’s like something you’d see in South Australia.”
Ms Falvey said the surfer initially looked angry, but by the time he got to shore his mood had changed.
“He was super chilled, [but] he was just super upset because he really loved his board and now it is broken,” she said.
“He said he felt [the shark] hit him hard on the back of his leg, but he was in waist-deep water so he was literally on the sand before he knew it.”
Beach closed
Dave Rope, from Surf Lifesaving Far North Coast, said the main beach at Cabarita and nearby Norries Cove had been closed to the public today as a safety precaution.
He said luck was on the side of the surfer.
“Very, very lucky, I’d be going out and buying a lottery ticket today, I think, if I was them,” Mr Rope said.
“I would just say that it is a miracle that no-one was injured physically from it.
“It’s quite a savage bite and large, it’s split in two. There’s no doubt that is probably from the force of the bite.”
A relieved surfer shows the bite mark left in his board by a shark at Cabarita. (Supplied: Kym Falvey)
Heavy board ‘crushed’
Gold Coast surfboard maker Jason Jamesson, who shaped the board the surfer was riding, said the force of the bite was “hard to comprehend”.
“That board was glassed heavier than normal boards … it was a strong, heavy board and it just crushed through that in one chomp,” he said.
“Apparently it bit it and spat it out in, like, a second; didn’t even shake or anything, just chomped right through it.”
Mr Jamesson said he spoke to the surfer involved soon after the incident.
“He was more concerned about just grabbing his son and making it to work on time,” he said.
“I think he’s still going to have to process it, but he was the most unfazed person up there.
“Where it hit him was waist-deep water, and that shark was massive … but he didn’t even see it.”
Mr Jamesson said a friend who was paddling out at the time thought it “looked like a frigging grenade went off”.
The morning at Cabarita Beach was picture perfect in the lead-up to the shark attack. (ABC News: Hannah Ross)
Ms Falvey said she was philosophical about the increase in shark incidents.
“People are realising that we are sharing [the water] with these animals,” she said.
“It is whale season and the sharks are more prevalent everywhere and we are just part of that.”