Italian boy recovering in Brisbane after shark mauling

A young Italian boy has undergone reconstructive surgery in a Brisbane hospital after he was attacked by a shark near off the Central Queensland coast yesterday. 

Nicolas Davis, 11, was bitten on the calf by a black tip reef shark as he waded he knee deep water near Heron Island.

He was flown to Gladstone Hospital with his father at his side, before being transferred to Brisbane's Lady Cilento Children's Hospital.

He is expected to remain there for a few days but is not believed to have suffered any permanent damage. 

"He was in a bit of pain, but by the time we were treating him he was in good spirits," paramedic Brad Lawson said. 

The island is a popular tourist destination for close encounters with sharks and Nicholas' family are in Australia for a beach holiday.

Experts are calling for island operators to rethink their eco-tourism policies. 

"Heron Island may need to look at their shark activities," shark researcher Daryl McPhee said.  

"There is always a high risk when large amount of sharks are attracted into area where there is a high overlap beetween sharks and people."

Heron Island is south-west of Miall Island, where a spear fisherman was mauled by a tiger or bull shark on Saturday.