‘Just paddle as hard as you can’: Surfer recounts terrifying Mid North Coast shark attack

The surfer attacked by a shark on the Mid North Coast has recalled paddling for his life after he was knocked off his board and into the water, as he yelled for his nephew and brother-in-law to swim to the shore as they were being circled.

Paul Zvirzdinas, 39, was surfing about 10am Tuesday at Point Plomer Beach in Limeburners Creek National Park when he was attacked by what is believed to be a bull shark that took a bite out of his board and his wetsuit.

“I saw it shake the board and then I paddled to shore … was just [thinking] get to shore, just paddle as hard as you can,” he told Nine News after returning to the campground near the beach north of Port Macquarie.

“Just get to land, that’s all that was in the head … what could have been is a pretty scary thought.”

He was taken to Kempsey Hospital, where he was treated for minor grazing to his chest. A NSW Police spokesperson said emergency services were not called over the incident.

Zvirzdinas has been surfing at Point Plomer his entire life, and said it was “too early to tell” if he would return to the water following the attack.

Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steve Pearce said Zvirzdinas was “extremely fortunate” to have avoided a major injury.

Four suspected bull sharks were spotted in the waters near Point Plomer, according to the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which has closed the beaches in Limeburners Creek National Park until further notice. Beaches between Town Beach in Port Macquarie and Crescent Head have also been shut.

Further south, Soldiers Beach at Norah Head on the Central Coast were also closed due to a shark sighting.

The latest incident follows three shark attacks in Sydney this week, fuelled by murky, brackish water from heavy rain and overflowing sewerage, which have forced the closure of multiple beaches.

A 12-year-old boy was on Sunday given a fighting chance of surviving a bull shark attack at Vaucluse in the eastern suburbs thanks to the bravery of his mates and a “textbook recovery” by emergency services.

A 27-year-old surfer, was rushed to hospital 24 hours later, after he was attacked by a bull shark at Manly on Monday evening. South Coast musician Andre de Ruyter, whose lower right leg was amputated overnight at Royal North Shore hospital, remains in intensive care.

Also on Sydney’s northern beaches, an 11-year-old surfer was knocked off his board before a shark took a bite out of it at Dee Why.

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