Fisherman bitten by shark off Queensland's Fraser Island

A man has suffered a significant hand injury from a shark bite while fishing off Fraser Island. Photo / RACQ Lifeflight

A fisherman has been flown to hospital after he was bitten by a shark off the coast of Queensland's Fraser Island this afternoon.

The man, aged in his 50s, had been fishing just before 4pm when he caught what is believed to be a whitetip shark.

He told rescuers he was trying to unhook the animal from his fishing line when it bit his arm.

Friends he was fishing with rushed to the man's aid to help pry his arm out of the shark's mouth and called emergency services.

The man was brought to shore by boat, where he was treated by Queensland Ambulance paramedics and a Critical Care Flight Paramedic before he was flown to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a stable condition.

Today's attack comes little more than a week after surfer Nick Slater, 46, was mauled to death by a shark on the Gold Coast.

Slater was attacked on September 8 off Greenmount Beach, which is protected by shark netting.

Despite the best efforts of other surfers, lifeguards and emergency services, Slater was pronounced dead on the sand.

Another surfer brought Slater's board back to shore, which had a clear indent from the shark's bite, and a tooth lodged in it.

The real estate agent's death marked the first fatal attack on a Gold Coast beach in 62 years, and sent shockwaves through the community.

Two months ago, Matthew Tratt, a spearfisherman from the Sunshine Coast, was fatally mauled in waters off Fraser Island's Indian Head.

Tratt, 36, had been fishing with his brother during a family holiday when he was attacked on July 4. Bystanders, including a doctor and nurse, treated the man before paramedics could get to the area, but he died at the scene.

His brother Robert told the ABC two weeks later the father-of-two had a "beautiful" death.

"When he did pass away he was on the rocks," he said. "There were whales jumping out of the water not 50 metres away, turtles flapping their flippers in the water below us.

"You couldn't write a more beautiful way to die if you tried."

- NCA NewsWire