Authorities search for shark responsible for attacking Port Macquarie surfer

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Authorities are still searching for the shark that attacked a surfer at a Port Macquarie beach on Friday. Toby Begg has undergone a second round of surgery with his recovery expected to be long and difficult.

Transcript

00:00 Toby Begg has spent some of his happiest days in the water, but yesterday turned out to

00:06 be his scariest.

00:08 The father of two was surfing at Lighthouse Beach when a 4-metre Great White Shark bit

00:12 his legs and lower body.

00:14 For 30 seconds, Toby fought with the shark and survived.

00:19 He certainly was a very good team member, so it doesn't surprise me that he was able

00:23 to fight it off and make his way back in.

00:25 Last night, the 44-year-old underwent a second round of surgery, his brother-in-law posting

00:30 on Facebook, "The injuries are extremely serious and life-changing."

00:34 Toby will require many surgeries and has years of rehabilitation ahead of him.

00:39 His former colleagues at the local fire station are hoping for the best.

00:43 Everyone is very concerned that we want him to pull through and make a speedy recovery

00:49 from this horrific event.

00:50 An online fundraiser has been set up to support the young family.

00:54 Other victims of shark attacks are offering their support.

00:57 Believe it or not, being attacked by a shark is a very expensive exercise because most

01:02 of us are not at work when we get attacked and there is years and years of ongoing physiotherapy.

01:08 Lighthouse Beach has now reopened, but authorities remain on alert.

01:12 The Department of Primary Industries has deployed additional smart drumlines as well as aerial

01:18 surveillance to locate and tag any sharks in the area.

01:22 We catch and tag all white, tiger and bull sharks as part of the smart drumline program.

01:28 The shark that attacked Toby Begg wasn't tagged.

01:31 Authorities are still searching for it.

01:33 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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