Friends, beachgoers help save life of latest NSW shark attack victim

The actions of a quick-thinking mate and fellow beachgoers have helped save the life of a father-of-two, who was mauled by a shark as he body boarded off the NSW mid-north coast yesterday.

Dale Carr, 38, remains in a stable condition after he was mauled on his buttocks and thighs at Lighthouse Beach in Port Macquarie, by what is believed to be a bull shark.

The attack occurred at around 5pm, with Mr Carr kicking and punching the shark in the head in an attempt to fight it off.

Mr Carr’s friend dragged him ashore to safety, where an off-duty doctor and nurse assisted with first aid and called emergency services.

He remains in a stable condition after undergoing two surgeries.

The incident marks the twelfth shark attack off the NSW coast in the past year, prompting authorities to begin to tag sharks spotted in the area.

Further north at Ballina, surfers and fishermen have pushed for a cull after 22 sightings of large sharks and three serious attacks, one of which killed local surfer Tadashi Nakahara in February.

“These sharks are coming in waist-deep water sometimes – it’s a bit scary,” Ballina Mayor David Wright said.

“You can virtually see them in the breakers. It’s totally unprecedented.”

However, Mr Wright said he wanted to see the results of the tagging of seven sharks spotted in the area before pushing for a cull.

“It’s no use culling if you don’t know why they’re there,” he said.