A man has fended off a shark with his surfboard after being attacked while surfing in waters off Ballina on the NSW north coast.
It's believed the 43-year-old was bitten on his calf at Shelly Beach around 7am on Wednesday.
He is being treated at Lismore Hospital, NSW Police told AAP.
Ballina Shire mayor David Wright said the surfer described the shark as being about 1.5 metres long.
"He grabbed him on the leg and pulled him off the board. He used the board to belt the shark away," Mr Wright told Sydney's 2GB radio.
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"He came onshore, wrapped his leg up and went to Ballina Hospital. He's now been transferred to Lismore Hospital. He's got an eight inch (20cm) cut on his calf."
Beaches around the Ballina area have been closed.
It follows the death of Victorian doctor Daniel Christidis, who died of his injuries after being mauled by a shark in the Whitsunday Islands.
The 33-year-old worked as a urologist at Melbourne's Austin Health and died from the attack by an unknown species of shark at dusk on Monday.
