Nelson Bay woman Lisa Mondy 24, was air lifted to John Hunter Hospital after she was viciously mauled by what is believed to have been a great white shark while wakeboarding near The Boulders.

She suffered injuries to her head, neck and arm and underwent a 15-hour operation as surgeons worked to re-attach parts of her left arm.

“This place is notorious for being a shark hot spot,” Mr Sharp said.

“What’s happened is just terrible.”

“You have to be wary when you’re on the water, they say this sort of thing doesn’t happen but you just don’t know what’s in there.”

Mr Sharp who has been fishing in the area for over 25 years said the bay was “absolutely buzzing” with baitfish at the moment, “which of course brings predatory fish”.

Fishing regularly off Jimmys Beach, Mr Sharp said he often encounters sharks and believes their numbers are increasing in the bay every year.

It is the second attack off Jimmys Beach in three years after surfer Ben Morcom was bitten in 2007.

CSIRO scientist Barry Bruce said while the area is known as a breeding ground, white shark attacks in Port Stephens were rare.

“Most of the time they’re going about their business eating their natural food in their nursery area…they attack for different reasons,” he said.

Mr Bruce has tracked the migration of juvenile white sharks in Port Stephens for the past four years.

Thirty sharks ranging from 1.7m to 2.6 m in length have been tagged in the area.

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