A young woman has witnessed the moment her father was killed by a shark as he dived for scallops off the eastern coast of Tasmania.

After the woman, aged in her early 20s, became concerned that her father had not surfaced, she let off a distress flare and fellow fishermen assisted her in dragging his body up by his air hose.

The attack happened at Lachlan Point off Maria Island about 8am on Saturday.

While the man's identity has not yet been released, it has been revealed that he was a 46-year-old Hobart City Council worker from Kingston, The Hobart Mercury have reported.

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A scallop diver has been killed by a shark off the eastern coast of Tasmania at Maria Island at 8am on Saturday

Local experts said the area where the fatal attack took place is popular with recreational divers

Local experts said the area where the fatal attack took place is popular with recreational divers and fishermen.

'It has been a tragic accident which understandably shocked and traumatised the man's family,' Inspector Dave Wiss of Tasmania Police said.

'[The daughter is] deeply traumatised, the wife of the deceased male is deeply traumatised as well.'

'Our main priority is assisting the family. We have ensured specialist trauma counsellors have been with them today.'

'His daughter became worried and went down and checked on her father,' Inspector Wiss said, speaking to reporters.

'She saw a very large shark and she saw her father being attacked by the shark.

'She immediately returned to the surface where she raised the alarm through setting off a flare and also by making an emergency phone call.

Tasmania Police Inspector David Wiss confirmed the man, a registered scallop diver, to be in his 40s and from the nearby area of Kingston

A diver has been killed by a shark off the eastern coast of Tasmania at Maria Island

Police officers arrive at the scene where a diver was killed by a shark, believed to be a great white

Maria Island is about eight kilometres from the eastern coast of Tasmania

'This is a deeply traumatic incident for the daughter.

'We're providing support as best we can [and] we've got professional critical incident people attending their residence as we speak.'

Scallop Fishermen's Association of Tasmania's John Hammond said the attack was a tragedy.

'It's a bloody tragedy, absolutely,' Mr Hammond told Daily Mail Australia.

'This has never happened before in that area... 20, 25 divers go down there every weekend and its the perfect spot for a it.'

Mr Hammond also said divers understand this is 'one of the risks you take' when getting in the water.

A boat patrols the area where the attack happened after other boaters and divers were told to stay out of the water

Police arrived at the scene to investigate on Saturday morning

'If we're in the water we're in their food chain. There's no defence if one of those monsters decides to attack you, you've got no chance,' he said.

'It is just tragically unfortunate it happened to this poor bugger.'

Mr Hammond said he didn't know how big the shark was, but said it 'has got to be a bloody big fish' to be capable of this sort of attack.

He also believed that other divers were in the water at the time of the incident.

Inspector Wiss also said he was not aware of any shark warnings being in place, despite reported sightings.

Police are expected to hold a media conference later on Saturday, but are advising

A massive 4.5 metre shark was spotted in the area on Friday, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The boat it is believed the diver and his daughter were using to go out on the water

RECENT SHARK ATTACKS IN AUSTRALIA JULY 25, 2015 * Man is killed while reportedly diving for scallops off Tasmania's east coast. It is believed the man was diving with his daughter, who saw the attack and surfaced to fire a distress flare. JULY 2, 2015 * Matthew Lee, 32, is mauled by a suspected great white shark at Lighthouse Beach, near Ballina, in northern NSW. He suffers critical leg injuries but survives. JANUARY 16, 2015 * Sam Smith, 17, is bitten on the hand by a 1.5m shark at Mollymook Beach, about three and a half hours south of Sydney. FEBRUARY 9, 2015 * Japanese national Tadashi Nakahara, 41, is killed at Shelly Beach, near Ballina, in northern NSW. DECEMBER 29, 2014 * Jay Muscat, 17, is killed by a great white while spearfishing at Cheynes Beach near Albany, WA. DECEMBER 15, 2014 * Daniel Smith, 18, of Mossman, is killed while fishing at Rudder Reef, off the coast of Port Douglas. OCTOBER 2, 2014 * Sean Pollard, 23, loses both hands after a shark attack at Wylie Bay Beach, near Esperance, WA. Advertisement

A Marina Island National Park spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia it is 'rare, very rare' to have sharks in the area.

'We don't sight many sharks around here at all,' the spokeswoman said.

Locals said they are devastated by the attack, according to the ABC.

'We pour out our sympathy to the family and from a council perspective if there's anything that we can do to assist in any way, shape or form we are only too happy to do so,' Glamorgan Spring Bay Mayor Michael Kent said.

'The people I have spoken to, they are in shock some of them, devastated.'

It is believed the man was attacked by a Great White shark

The attack happened at Lachlan Point on Saturday morning

Boat owners and divers were advised to stay out of the water.

A coronal inquest will be held into the man's death.

Maria Island is one of Tasmania's most popular diving locations, with reserves in the area rich in the 'highest quality marine biodiversity', according to Discover Tasmania.

Maria Island is about eight kilometres from the eastern coast of Tasmania, and about one hour from Hobart.