Surfers compete at Margaret River Pro despite Gracetown shark attack

AUSTRALIANS will make up one half of the women’s quarter-final field at the Margaret River Pro after a shark attack at Gracetown saw the world tour competition put on hold on Monday.

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A NEARBY shark attack stopped the competition briefly but it was a former world champion and a surfer with local knowledge who halted Sally Fitzgibbons’s bid to defend her crown at the Margaret River Pro.

While the world tour competition went on hold for an hour in the wake of a man being attacked at Gracetown, around 15km away, Fitzgibbons was sent to the sidelines for the future duration of the event by triple world champion Carissa Moore and 2017 Rookie of the Year Bronte Macaulay.

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It was the second successive world tour event Fitzgibbons has failed to make the quarter-finals following her worst ever result — a 13th — at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach last week.

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Tyler Wright is one of four Australians in the quarter-finals.

World Surf League commissioner Kieren Perrow said local authorities, the safety team and athletes were all consulted before Fitzgibbons and fellow surfers in the women's competition went back in the water following the shark attack early Monday.

“After all the conversations, with safety the No. 1 priority, we decided to further enhance with additional jet skis and drones,’’ Perrow said.

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Perrow said footage from drones is constantly monitored with a jetski per surfer on the water and seven in total in the competition arena in the wake of the shark attack.

“Fortunately the water visibility here is amazing,’’ Perrow said.

There have been three fatal shark attacks at Gracetown in the last 18 years with another surfer bitten on the ankle in January.

A man has been flown to Perth after being bitten by a shark at a Gracetown beach. Pic: Nine News

A eyewitness to the attack at Cobblestones beach on Monday likened it to the one on Mick Fanning in South Africa in 2015.

The surfer was reportedly able to body surf back to the beach where he received help to stem bleeding before being flow by helicopter to Perth where he remains in a stable condition.

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“Surfer and staff safety are top priorities for the WSL and when competition resumes, further enhanced safety measures, including ski and drone presence, will be added to the event’s mitigation protocols. We look forward to a great completion of the event.’’organisers said in a statement before resuming the competition.

Lakey Peterson is currently ranked No. 2 in the world.

Hawaiian world champion John John Florence posted on social media that he had seen sharks in the area prior to the start of competition on the weekend.

When competition resumes Australia will have four surfers in the quarter-finals in six-time world champion Steph Gilmore, current world titleholder Tyler Wright, local Macaulay and Nikki Van Dijk.