Shark attack victim in critical condition

A surfer has undergone a 4.5 hour emergency surgery after being bitten by a shark at a popular beach on the northern NSW coast.

A MAN bitten by a shark off the Northern NSW Coast has undergone a 4.5 hour emergency surgery.

The 41-year-old man had been airlifted to hospital after being bitten on the leg, off Byron Bay just before 7am today.

The shark bite victim has been identified as Sam Edwardes.

The Suffolk Park man was surfing with friends and family at Belongil Beach at the time of the attack.

Fellow surfers worked to stabilise him before ambulance and police crews arrived.

Bite marks found in the surfboard of a shark attack victim who was bitten off the Northern NSW Coast today.

Bite marks found in the surfboard of a shark attack victim who was bitten off the Northern NSW Coast today.

He was then treated by paramedics at the scene, having received a large wound to his left thigh, before being airlifted to Gold Coast University Hospital.

Mr Edwardes went into emergency surgery at 9am today he was moved to the Intensive Care Unit mid afternoon.

His condition had been downgraded from critical to serious.

Witnesses to the attack said he had a “big chunk taken out of his leg”.

Dane Davidson who was surfing with Mr Edwardes at the time of the attack said the shark had knocked him off the board.

Matt Kehoe the Detective Inspector and Officer in Charge at Byron Bay Police Station with the surfboard of the shark attack victim.

“As soon as my mate got out the back he sat up on his board instantly a shark smashed from underneath, knocking him clean off his board,” Mr Davidson told the ABC this morning.

“We didn’t realise until we were on the beach that there was a big chunk taken out of his leg so there was a lot of blood,” he said.

“I was freaking. When I heard the screams he was making in the water and then I saw a chunk of his board floating off, that’s when I realised it was pretty bad.”

Drones were not used this morning as shark spotters due to high winds.

A Westpac Rescue helicopter from Sydney was called in off a missing person job in Ballina to track the shark but could not find it after scouring the waters for 40 minutes.

Tweed Byron Police Chief Inspector Matt Kehoe said the Main and Belongil Beach would be closed for 24 hours.

Beachgoers were still happy to swim at Main Beach Byron Bay just hours after a man was bitten by a shark.

“We’ll make a reassessment of the situation tomorrow morning,” he said.

“It hasn’t deterred a large number of surfers that are still in the water but we can only provide them the advice through Surf Lifesaving.

“They’ve had IRBs and jet skis out in the water patrolling along with the Surf Lifesaving helicopter and drones.

“We can provide the advice to surfers that they shouldn’t be in the water at this time but ultimately that’s a decision they will make.”

Officers from Tweed/Byron Police District will liaise with Department of Primary Industry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Beachgoers have been urged to follow safety advice from Surf Life Saving NSW but the early morning shark attack hasn’t deterred people from the beach in Byron Bay.

Dozens of surfers and families have crowded the water of the closed Main Beach and Belongil Beach just hours after the surfer was bitten.