1st LD Writethru: Man dies in shark attack in Australia waters

A man believed to be a Japanese national died in a shark attack on the New South Wales north coast on Monday and authorities were still attempting to identify the man, a senior police officer said.

"We have a young male we think is a Japanese national, but those inquiries are still ongoing," said Detective Inspector Cameron Lyndsay, adding that the man is thought to have died from blood loss.

Surfers pulled the man out of water after spotting the incident and attempted to administer first-aid, however the man died at the scene.

"We are now concentrating on searching the area and seeing if we can locate that shark," he said. "It's been described as 'very big'."

Witnesses said the shark, believed to be a Great White, could have been up to four meters in length.

Lifesaver jet skis and helicopters have been deployed along the coast, searching for any signs that it might still be in the area.

The attack occurred at Shelley Beach, a popular holiday destination near the town of Ballina.

The beach and neighboring beaches along the NSW north coast have been closed.

The incident, which followed another shark attack of a surfer at a nearby beach over the weekend, is the 15th fatal shark attack in Australian waters since 2010.

To stop deadly attacks on humans, Australian scientists are catching and tagging tiger sharks.

Shark researcher Bonnie Holmes from the University of Queensland said the research team is using satellite, acoustic and accelerometer tags, and even cameras to track tiger sharks.

"We're also collecting genetic information from fin clips and taking blood which can help us look at reproductive systems," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Monday.

"We can get really long-term data sets now, which we've never had before."

"We hope to provide information to those programs and the general public on when and where is the safest time to swim." Endi