A British doctor who was attacked by a shark on the NSW Central Coast while surfing says he owes Mick Fanning a beer after copying the legend surfer's tactics and punching the animal to ward it off.
Charlie Fry, 25, was surfing with three mates at Avoca Beach north of Sydney on Monday afternoon when a shark nipped him on the shoulder.
"When it happened, I was like 'Just do what Mick did, just punch it in the nose'," Dr Fry told the Nine Network on Tuesday.
"If you are watching or listening, Mick, I owe you a beer, thank you very much."
Dr Fry said he was up to 40 metres offshore when the shark jumped out of the water and hit him on the right shoulder which blindsided him.
"I thought it was a friend goofing around (initially)," he said.
"I turned and I saw this shark come out of the water and breach its head.
"I punched it in the face with my left hand and managed to scramble back on my board and shout at my friends. Luckily a wave came so I just surfed the wave in."
Dr Fry, who works for the Central Coast Local Health District, was taken to Gosford Hospital with scratches and a puncture wound on his shoulder.
A Department of Primary Industries shark biologist has since assessed photographs of the wounds and determined a great white shark about 2.6 metre in length was likely responsible for the bite.
"I didn't feel the teeth going in, it felt like I was smacked, it felt like a hand, a hand grabbing me, shaking me," Dr Fy said.
"It was just pure adrenaline, I genuinely thought I was going to die, like 'You're about to be eaten by a shark', so everything slowed down."
Avoca Beach and North Avoca remain closed on Tuesday.
Australian surfing legend Fanning was attacked by a great white while competing at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa in 2015 and walked away physically unscathed after fighting it off.
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