A man is in a stable condition in hospital after being attacked by a shark while spearfishing off central Queensland.
The 31-year-old man was bitten on his arms and legs while swimming near Miall Island off Yeppoon just before midday on Saturday.
It is understood he had speared a trout when he was attacked, which attracted a school of mackerel and, in turn, the shark.
Queensland Ambulance officer Brad Miers told the ABC the man punched the shark until it stopped attacking him. The man then swam back to the boat.
“He is in a serious but stable condition at the Rockhampton hospital but he has received quite severe injuries to his upper limbs,” Miers told ABC.
“It seems like he has tried to fight the shark off for a considerable amount of time.”
Beaches in New South Wales have been closed in recent days after large numbers of sharks were spotted near the shore.
Blacksmith’s beach, a popular beach on the NSW mid-north coast near Lake Macquarie, was closed for four hours on New Year’s Day after two suspected great white sharks were spotted in the area.
And on the two days before that, Hyams beach on the south coast was closed as a school of about 15 bronze whalers were seen metres from shore.
