A surfer has escaped serious injury after being bitten by a shark on the New South Wales Mid North Coast in the fourth confirmed shark attack on the state’s coastline in the past 48 hours.

The 39-year-old man was surfing at Point Plomer, near Crescent Head, on Tuesday morning when the shark bit through his board.

The man has been taken to hospital with minor cuts and grazes to one of his legs.

Local surfers said they witnessed what they believed to be multiple bull sharks in the water at the time of the attack.

Shark surveillance drones have been deployed to the area.

Port Macquarie Hastings ALS Lifeguards said beaches have been closed from Town Beach in Port Macquarie to Crescent Head beach.

Surfer ‘very fortunate’

Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive, Steve Pearce, said the surfer was lucky to be alive and was now recovering at Kempsey District Hospital.

“The area is known to have some shark activity up there,” he told the ABC.

“[He’s] very fortunate to not have sustained any serious injuries.”

Mr Pearce said the area where the man was attacked was isolated, not netted and there were no smart drumlines installed.

“Anytime after a big weather event there’s always going to be a lot of run-off and out flow of creeks into the ocean and river mouths.

“We really strongly advocate that nobody swim or surf near river mouths because it’s obviously an area where sharks congregate.

“If it’s dirty water I’d think twice about going in there.”

Kempsey-Crescent Head Surf Life Saving Club captain Matt Worrall said the surfer was lucky to escape with only minor injuries.  

“The surfboard seemed to take most of the impact,” he said.

“We’ve had reports that he made his own way into shore where he was assisted by locals.

“No ambulance was called, he was transported under his own steam to hospital.”

Mr Worrall said the recent spate of shark attacks had mystified local lifeguards.

“We’ve all got our own theories as to what’s going on,” he said.

“I personally haven’t seen more sharks this season compared to other seasons.

“We think it has something to do with the freshwater that’s been pushing the sharks out of the river systems.” 

Surfer suffers critical injuries

Just after 6pm on Monday, a 27-year-old man suffered critical injuries after being bitten by a shark at North Steyne Beach in Manly, on Sydney’s northern beaches.

Police said the man sustained “life-changing injuries” and remains in critical condition following surgery.

Swimming spots on the northern beaches have been closed to surfers and swimmers for the next 48 hours following a spate of shark attacks. 

Earlier on Monday, a young surfer escaped uninjured after a shark bit off a chunk of his surfboard at Dee Why Beach in the northern beaches.

The incidents happened less than a day after a boy was left in a critical condition with injuries to both legs in a suspected bull shark attack near Vaucluse’s Shark Beach.