A navy clearance diver who lost a leg and a forearm in a shark attack has come out against the Western Australian shark cull, describing it as "stupid" and a "knee-jerk reaction".

Paul de Gelder was on exercises in Sydney Harbour in 2009 when he was attacked by a bull shark that bit off his arm and leg. Since then he has had to use specially made prosthetics.

"They're not our sharks to kill and they're definitely not Colin Barnett's sharks to kill," Paul de Gelder opposes the WA shark cull. Credit:Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

But despite his experience, Mr de Gelder, originally of Canberra, said he was completely against Premier Colin Barnett's proposed shark cull, spelling out his opposition in a blog post on Wednesday morning.

"[It's] a knee jerk reaction for the government that is pushing this ridiculous bait-lining. That is one of the stupidest solutions they could have come up with to try and kill sharks three metres and over," he told Fairfax Media.