A man has been bitten by a shark on the New South Wales South Coast.

Key points: A witness says a surfer's foot looks "pretty mangled" after he was bitten by a shark on a NSW beach, which lifeguards have now closed

A witness says a surfer's foot looks "pretty mangled" after he was bitten by a shark on a NSW beach, which lifeguards have now closed Paramedics say the man was treated for shock, along with his wounds, but that he is in a stable condition

Paramedics say the man was treated for shock, along with his wounds, but that he is in a stable condition The break, which locals call "Sharkies", is known to be a feeding place for bull sharks, though what species bit the man is unclear

NSW Ambulance said the 60-year-old was bitten to the bone on his left foot while surfing with a friend at Windang Beach, south of Wollongong around 8:00am on Friday.

Illawarra Ambulance Chief Inspector Terry Morrow said the man is in a stable condition after being treated by paramedics at the scene.

"He was waiting for a wave a felt a tug on his left leg," Inspector Morrow said.

"He looked down, saw some blood, got onto his board and made his way to the shoreline.

The surfer was treated for shock as well as his injuries after the attack. ( Supplied: Al Barraclough )

"He has a significant laceration to the top arch of his left ankle area but it looks like it must have been a small shark."

The man was taken to Wollongong Hospital to be treated for his injuries.

"He's in a stable condition, he was given pain relief because he was a bit shocked and felt sick," Inspector Morrow said

"He was cooperative and very thankful for the assistance of his mates, the surf life savers and paramedics."

"He'll be fine, his family have now been notified and are making their way to the hospital," he said.

Witnesses say the shark nosed up from below the surfer's board. ( ABC Illawarra: Natal Jimma )

Sharks known to feed at local break

Resident Al Barraclough was present in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

"I was there while the ambos were taking him off on the stretcher to take him to hospital," he said.

"I've got photos of his foot and it looks pretty mangled."

The break the man had been surfing is known as "Sharkies."

"It's the mouth of Lake Illawarra where the lake empties into the ocean," Mr Barraclough said.

"So the reason they call it 'Sharkies' is because sometimes you'll see sharks out there feeding on the fish coming out of the lake."

It is unclear what species of shark bit the man, but that bull sharks were known to frequent the area.

"That's the most common shark out there," Mr Barraclough said.

"I was about to go out myself, but changed my mind."

Inspector Morrow said the man's injuries suggested he was bitten by a small shark.

"It appears that it was a small shark, if it was a larger shark it would have been a more disastrous situation, I believe," he said.

"It looked as though it grabbed him on the foot and let go when it realised the object that it had bitten was a little bit larger than itself."

Lifeguards have closed the beach.