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Dozens of rescue crews are scouring the NSW north coast for a shark, believed to be a great white shark, that fatally attacked a surfer on Monday morning The man died at Shelly Beach, a popular tourist spot in Ballina, just before 10am on Monday, police said. Surfers who were in the water at the time said they saw the shadow of the shark and estimated it to have been between 3.5 and four metres long, the Northern Star reported. Three young surfers pulled the man from the water and administered first aid but he died on the sand. It is believed the shark bit off both of his legs. Ballina Shire mayor David Wright said rescuers believed it was a great white shark. The victim was sitting on his surfboard when the shark came up beneath him, taking off both of his legs and pulling him off his surfboard, he said. "For a shark to take the board and the person sitting on it, it's got to be very big," he said. Police are at the scene and lifeguards are searching for the shark in jet-skis, rescue boats and a helicopter, a Surf Life Saving NSW spokesman said. All beaches along the 15-kilometre stretch from Lennox Head to South Ballina have been closed at the direction of police. The man is believed to be a Japanese national in his 20s who had lived in Ballina for several years. He worked at a Ballina hotel and was well known in the local surfing community. "He was a really nice guy, he loved his surfing," said Richard, the manager of a surf shop. "He always had friends coming out from Japan and he'd always take them surfing." Richard said the frequency of shark attacks in the area was "getting crazy". "Every week we get someone knocked off their board or nipped, it's getting ridiculous," he said. A crime scene has been established at Shelly Beach and a report will be prepared for the coroner. Natasha Loosemore, a worker at the nearby Dunes accommodation facility, said she heard "a lot of sirens" and saw everybody out of the water. "It's a surfing beach but it's also a family beach as well, which is pretty scary," she said. Cr Wright said it was likely the shark at Shelly Beach was the same one that bit a man at Seven Mile Beach near Byron Bay, 25 kilometres away from Shelly Beach, on Sunday morning. The surfer, believed to be from Byron Bay, suffered a cut to the right side of his back and puncture marks to his buttocks. There have been a spate of shark sightings and attacks along the NSW coast this summer, forcing some beaches to close for weeks. A 1.8-metre shark was sighted off Newcastle's Bar Beach on Friday and a bodysurfer was bitten on the foot by a small shark at nearby Merewether Beach. Paul Wilcox, 50, died after being mauled by a great white shark at Clarkes Beach in Byron Bay in September last year. However, a spokesman for the Department of Primary Industries said on Monday that there was no evidence to suggest increasing populations of potentially dangerous sharks along the NSW coast. A shark biologist from the department is travelling to Ballina and will study the attack pattern and assist in identification of the shark. smh.com.au

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