UPDATE: A 13-YEAR-OLD boy who was bitten by a shark while surfing near Mandurah rode his bike home and had some breakfast before he went to the hospital.

Year 8 Mandurah Catholic College student Cameron Pearman, 13, said he wanted some raisin toast before his parents took him to Peel Health Campus after he was bitten on the leg about 6am.

“I was pretty hungry. I needed some raisin toast,” Cameron, who is also a Mandurah Board Riders member, said.

Surf Life Saving WA said the boy received a “small puncture wound” above the knee.

A photo taken by his one of his friends shows puncture wounds above his knee and on his lower leg.

When Cameron arrived home on his bike, his dad Tim didn’t believe he’d been attacked by a shark.

“Dad didn’t believe me when I casually walked in and said I’d been bitten. He thought I’d just crashed my bike or something,” he said.

Cameron said the 2-2.5 metre shark “hit me from behind” when he was surfing at Port Bouvard Beach at Dawesville, and all he saw was a “massive grey head”.

“It had a massive head on it. It hit me from behind as I was sitting on my board and I only saw it for a second,” he said.

“It was just an accident, I think it was just going after some fish and ran into me.

“It was definitely an adrenalin rush. I didn’t have my phone so I just rode home.

“He had a taste and didn’t like it so he kept on swimming.

“I didn’t know how bad it was but it was a big relief to get to the beach and a big relief to see I still had my leg.

“I’ll be back in the water for sure, probably tomorrow morning.”

It was Cameron’s first surf after three weeks out of the water for an injured wrist, but he said the shark struck “before I even got to catch a wave”.

His cousin Sam James, 16, and bystander Bruce Ridley, 19, both Port Bouvard Surf Life Saving Club members, treated his wounds and bandaged them.

“He pulled up his wetsuit and blood just started coming out, but Cameron was really chilled about it,” Sam said.

Tim Pearman said sharks were regularly seen in the area but the encounter wouldn’t stop him or his son from surfing.

“It was an accident, not a proper attack,” he said.

“When he heard Fisheries were looking for the shark, Cameron said he didn’t want them to kill it because it didn’t do anything wrong. He was more worried about the shark.

“It gave him a hell of a fright but that’s about it.”

While his leg injuries are minor, Cameron said his wetsuit came off second best from the encounter.

“I’ll probably need a new one,” he said.

Beach closed

Surf Life Saving WA said Port Bouvard Beach, also known as Pyramids Beach, was “closed due to a shark bite incident”.

Earlier, Surf Life Saving WA tweeted that a medium-sized shark of an unknown species had been spotted near the bridge about 7.45am.

Council rangers said the beach would probably be closed until 6am today.

Mandurah Board Riders president Brian Williams said there had been a shark sighting in the area a fortnight ago.

Luke Toyne, 14, and Beau Wyllie, 14, were called in from surfing the one-metre waves when local rangers closed the beach.

“We weren’t too worried, it’s part and parcel of surfing,” Luke said.

“But we came in because we thought there was no point taking chances.”

The teenagers said they surfed the Pyramids beach breaks about once a fortnight, and said it wasn’t considered a very “sharky” spot.

“I always felt pretty safe,” said Beau.

Council rangers said the beach would probably be closed until 6am tomorrow.

Port Bouvard beach (Pyramids beach) is closed due to a shark bite incident. — Surf Life Saving WA (@SLSWA) November 29, 2014

Patient was treated by lifesavers and was stable when handed over to paramedics. Beach is expected to remain closed for 24 hours. — Surf Life Saving WA (@SLSWA) November 29, 2014

Unidentified species

Department of Fisheries shark response unit manager Lisa Clack said a fisheries boat was patrolling the area but had not been able to identify the species of shark.

Ms Clack said that unless the individual shark could be identified it would not be destroyed.

She said the shark may have been attracted by schooling baitfish in the area, and warned beach-goers to keep an eye out for that and other hazards that can attract sharks.

“Our advice to water users is to adhere to the closures that are in place by the City of Mandurah and Surf Life Saving WA,” she said.

“We would advise anyone who sights a shark to report it to Water Police, and also check the latest information before you use the beach.”

Shark sightings are broadcast on the Surf Life Saving WA twitter feed and the SharkSmart website.

Shark sightings can be reported to Water Police on 9442 8600.

Global reaction

Cameron’s actions have become a talking point overseas as Australian NBA export Andrew Bogut shared the surfer’s story on Twitter.