A quick-thinking off-duty police officer used his dog's leash to treat the wounds of a shark attack victim who found on the shore of an isolated beach.
Kai McKenzie, 23, was catching waves at North Shore Beach, near Port Macquarie on the NSW mid-north coast, when he was attacked on Tuesday morning.
Members of the public and an off-duty police officer used improvised tourniquets to stem the bleeding after the surfer was bitten on the leg leaving him critically wounded.
NSW Ambulance Service Hastings South acting duty manager Kirran Mowbray said the surfer is recovering in hospital in a serious but stable condition.
"He actually saw the shark and fought it off and then he's caught a wave into shore which is a pretty courageous thing to be able to do," she told reporters.
Ms Mowbray also confirmed an off-duty officer saw the incident unfold, rushed to the scene and used his dog’s lead as a tourniquet to stem the blood loss before emergency services arrived.
Mr McKenzie was taken to Port Macquarie Base Hospital in a critical but stable condition.
The sponsored surfer was only recently back in the water after suffering a significant injury.
"So happy to be back surfing after having a fractured neck," he posted on Instagram in January.
Beachgoers and a surfer were treating the 23-year-old when lifeguards arrived from nearby Town Beach, Port Macquarie-Hastings lifeguards said in a statement on social media.
Nearby beaches will be closed for at least 24 hours.
North Shore Beach is isolated and accessible by a dirt road.
There had been several shark sightings to the north of Port Macquarie in preceding days.
A tagged white shark was detected at multiple locations at Sawtell, near Coffs Harbour, on Monday and Tuesday.
Lifesavers evacuated the water at a local beach after the sighting of an unidentified 2.5m shark on Monday.
BiteMetrix, a website that provides surfers with data on increased risk of shark-human interaction, noted there had been a continued increase in white shark activity in the area during the past week.
