Quick-thinking bystanders have helped potentially save a man's life after he was bitten on the arm by a shark in the NSW Hunter region.
The 58-year-old man suffered severe cuts to his arm when the shark bit him at Lake Macquarie's Yarrawonga Park on Saturday evening.
The man was swimming with a woman, 56, who helped pull him to shore before bystanders applied a makeshift tourniquet.
NSW Ambulance says he was conscious when paramedics arrived and he was flown to John Hunter Hospital for surgery in a serious but stable condition.
"Bystanders did a great job applying a makeshift tourniquet before paramedic crews arrived," NSW Ambulance Inspector Grahame Rathbone said.
"This was potentially life-saving for the patient.
"When you get a call to attend a shark attack, you never really know the full extent of the injuries until you get on scene."
Police say they are working with NSW Fisheries to identify the species.
