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Ballina Shark Attack Prompts Eco Barrier Nets Promise

'He Was The Only Surfer In The Water': How Ballina Shark Attack Unfolded
Natalie Grono

On Monday, officials gathered to talk about shark-minimisation strategies at the notorious Lighthouse Beach in Ballina.

On Tuesday, surfer Sam Morgan, 20, was mauled by a bull shark at that very beach and now on Wednesday, Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair has announced an eco-barrier will be installed as soon as possible.

These are the comments that have defined the discussion over the last two days.

Ballina Mayor David Wright told reporters:

"These are injuries I think, emotionally, you'll never get over," he said.

"My first thought went to all the other victims that we've seen this year and those who rescued them because they fall apart."

"He was the only surfer in the water," she said.

"A person on the beach heard him scream and saw him stumble out of the water. He has come out of the water with a large bite wound to his left thigh."

“There’s so much activity on the Australian east coast," he said.

"In the past couple of years, it’s happening more and more.

“We need to figure out what it is and a way to deter them."

"He had massive tissue damage," he said.

"He had a massive bite that took up the whole of his thigh...very very deep, right down to the bone.

"It took two tourniquets to stop the bleeding.

"He was conscious but he was in profound shock."

"I don't know what it takes, it's like a revolving door at the moment, it's just going round and round," he said.

"It's taken the Minister and the Premier, I think, quite a long time to really move on it. Realistically, I mean getting something done immediately; they've talked about a lot of things now that they want to implement, let's see it happen now."

"There were meetings, even as early as Monday this week, to look at the types of eco-barriers that we could put in at Lighthouse Beach."

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