Second shark attack at Gracetown after 41-year-old man bitten
A second man has been attacked by a shark off Gracetown on Monday afternoon.
The incident follows a confirmed attack in the same area this morning.
Channel 9 reporter Michael Stamp told 6PR a 41-year-old Denmark man was bitten at Left Handers break about 2.40pm.
The man had not realised the beach was closed, and said he saw a four-metre white pointer coming towards him.
Paramedics are treating the man at the beach for reported minor leg injuries.
WA shark expert Hugh Edwards said he believed drum lines should be deployed soon to catch the shark at Gracetown.
Mr Edwards, 85, said attacks on humans were so rare it was highly likely the same shark had attacked both surfers on Monday.
"Shark attacks tend to come in a series and if you can catch a shark that has been involved in an attack, that's the way to go no question," he said.
"But you have to do it quickly because the great whites are travelling fish and if you leave it until tomorrow the thing could be a hundred miles away.
"Gracetown is a notorious spot and I think there would be more attacks there than anywhere else in Western Australia."
Mr Edwards, who has been studying sharks since the 1950s, said he had not heard of two people being attacked in the same day in the same area.
"Two attacks in one day at the same location is unusual," he said.
"Shark attacks are so rare that it is far more likely to be the same shark.
"If it was a dog biting someone or a bull killing someone, there would be no question the animal should be put down, and the same with the shark.
"But you can't catch every shark in the ocean because it is not practical and morally speaking it isn't fair because the other sharks haven't done anything."
Opposition leader Mike Nahan said WA Premier Mark McGowan must act after two shark attacks in one day.
"West Australians understand human lives must be prioritised over sharks," Dr Nahan said.
"It is a failure of leadership from Mark McGowan if he doesn’t act now."