A beach has been closed on the NSW Far North Coast after a surfer was knocked off his board by a shark.
The incident happened on Thursday morning at Angels Beach, East Ballina, about 30 minutes south of Byron Bay.
He returned to shore safely, with no injuries reported.
The beach is expected to remain closed until further notice.
The close encounter comes just days after four people were attacked by sharks in a 48-hour period in NSW.
Nico Antic, 12, died after being bitten by a bull shark in Sydney’s east on January 18.
A day later an 11-year-old’s surfboard was bitten at Dee Why while hours later, a 27-year-old man was bitten less than 5km away.
The day after, a 39-year-old man was bitten north of Port Macquarie.
Days after he was attacked, Nico’s parents Lorena and Juan Antic shared a statement via The Children’s Hospital at Randwick with sad news.
‘We are heartbroken to share that our son, Nico, has passed away,’ they wrote.
‘Nico was a happy, friendly, and sporty young boy with the most kind and generous spirit. He was always full of life and that’s how we’ll remember him.’
Andre de Ruyter, 27, is still in hospital after his attack on Sydney’s northern beaches on January 19.
His lower right leg was amputated after suffering a severe bite from a bull shark.
While some, including former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, have called for action to reduce shark numbers, experts argue against a cull, saying there was no evidence of a population boom.
Following the recent attacks, $4.2million has been allocated to NSW beach safety programmes, supporting shark tagging and monitoring, as well as the installation of listening stations in the harbour.
Drone patrols will also operate seven days a week until the end of the April school holidays.
CRE: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15508021/Angels-Beach-closed.html