Surfer killed by shark ‘as big as a car’

THE family of a surfer killed by a shark “as big as a car” said last night they did not want the man-eater shot.

West Australian fishing authorities have been searching the waters off Gracetown, 280km south of Perth, for the killer shark since Brad Smith, 29, was attacked on Saturday.

The passionate surfer was enjoying a weekend away with a mate when the shark struck about 2pm on Saturday.

Two teenagers who pulled Mr Smith's body from the water said the shark was "as big as a car."

Mr Smith's older brother Stephen yesterday spoke of the family's shock at the attack but said they did not believe the shark should be killed.

"I don't believe that the shark should be killed for the sake of what's happened," Mr Smith said.

Mr Smith, 36, said his brother, who worked as a rigger in Perth, lived for surfing travelling to countries as diverse as Morocco, Indonesia, Ireland and South Africa to enjoy the waves.

"That was his life," Mr Smith said. "He was a carefree character and a quintessential Australian, I suppose. He loved to have a laugh, a bit of fun and to have a drink. My brother had always surfed and my greatest recollections are of him surfing from a young age."

Witnesses told of seeing two sharks circling Mr Smith, who was about 120m off shore.

While the smaller one continued to circle him the larger shark estimated to be up to 5m long attacked Mr Smith, biting through his legs and surfboard.

The first surfer to reach Mr Smith after the attack, Mitch Campbell, 17, from Margaret River, said Mr Smith was hitting the shark in a bid to stop the attack.

"It just kept going back for more," he said.

An ambulance official said the victim suffered extensive injuries to the pelvis and abdomen. He died on the beach before medical workers reached him.

Witnesses said the killer was a great white shark.

It was the sixth fatal shark attack in Australian waters since 2000.