'We heard a scream': Witness recounts panic after surfer mauled by shark while partner watches from WA beach

A witness has described the panic as a surfer in his 30s was attacked by a shark off a Western Australian beach where his partner sat watching.

Police, Marine Rescue WA, and SES were searching this afternoon for the surfer off the coast of Wharton Beach in Cape Le Grand, Condingup, 60 kilometres east of Esperance.

Beachgoers said a massive shark went for the male surfer in chest-deep water.

READ MORE: Plane with five aboard crashes near retirement community

READ MORE: PM confirms ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred victims will be eligible for Disaster Recovery Allowance

"There were screams. There were people saying like 'get out', everything - it was a very panicked moment," witness Joscelin Boissieux said.

Dozens of surfers in the water saw what happened.

"We heard a scream and everyone got out of the water," Boissieux said.

There was only a surfboard left floating around about 30 metres from the shore.

"The water next to it was dark, with a shark's fin circling around."

That board was found with bite marks and police were were called to the scene at 12.10pm (3.10pm AEDT).

According to monitoring website SharkSmart, a public report was made about a shark sighting 50 metres off the shore five minutes later at the same beach.

"It is believed the surfer was the victim of a serious shark bite incident," police said.

Boissieux said the man's partner was on the beach when he was attacked.

"She was shocked," he said.

The coast around Esperance has a history of fatal attacks.

In 2020, 57-year-old Gary Johnson was killed diving near Cull Island and surfer Andrew Sharpe was fatally mauled at Kelp Beds.

Three years earlier, teenager Laeticia Brouwer was also killed surfing.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.