Bronze whaler shark may be to blame for attack

The attack happened at Back Beach. Photo / Thinkstock

A bronze whaler shark may have been responsible for an attack on a man who was surfing with family and friends near Streaky Bay in South Australia.

The man, 47, was surfing at Back Beach on Tuesday afternoon when he was attacked on his right arm and shoulder.

He was in the water with a group of friends and his daughter when the shark struck.

Jeff Schmucker was taking photographs of the group when he saw the victim pulled from the water by other surfers.

"The guy I ran into up the top ... he said there'd been a shark attack. He was yelling at me and he was definitely panicking," Mr Schmucker told Adelaide Now.

"By the time I saw the other six guys that carried the victim on a surfboard they were shaken up and obviously quite puffed at getting through the heavy sand with carrying a guy on a surfboard."

"The wounded surfer was taken to Streaky Bay hospital before being transferred to Royal Adelaide Hospital where he is in a stable condition after surgery overnight.

Police said today the type of shark was not known, but is suspected to have been a bronze whaler.

- AAP