Ballina shark attack, man killed off Shelly Beach <br />The scene of the shark attack at Lighthouse Beach, Ballina. DPI vessels used for tagging sharks off Lighthouse Beach today. Picture: Jason O'Brien. In July, Ballina bodyboarder … <br />Ballina shark attack: Surfer in induced coma; Government confirms shark 'eco-barriers' to be installed at Ballina's Lighthouse Beach <br />Sam Morgan, 20, underwent surgery and was put in an induced coma at a Gold Coast hospital after being bitten by a bull shark at Ballina on Tuesday evening. <br /> <br />Mr Morgan was surfing on his own at Lighthouse Beach about 6:30pm when he was bitten on the left thigh. <br /> <br />He made his own way out of the water before being helped by beachgoers until paramedics arrived and he was flown to hospital. <br /> <br />Lennox Head-Ballina surfing club criticised the State Government on what it said was slow action on shark-deterrent technology. <br /> <br />But Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair said the latest meshing technology, which has been trialled in Western Australia, would be installed at Lighthouse Beach this summer. <br />"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," Mr Blair said. <br /> <br />The nylon eco-barriers run from the seabed to the water's surface, and from shoreline to shoreline, to create a protected enclosure for swimming. <br /> <br />While the nets separate swimmers from sharks, they do not capture sharks or other marine life as other nets can. <br /> <br />The State Government has been considering locations for the trial of a range of shark detection and deterrent measures under a $16 million, five-year integrated shark strategy. <br />The measures include increased aerial surveillance using helicopters and drones, eco-barrier nets at some beaches, smart drum lines, a shark-tagging program, and detection and deterrence devices such as sonar and 4G buoys. <br /> <br />In a WA trial an eco-barrier with a wide-mesh design was found to have successfully deterred sharks while having a structure that prevented other marine life getting caught in it. <br />The president of the local Le-Ba Boardriders Club said the time had come to take decisive action. <br /> <br />"I don't know what it takes, it's like a revolving door at the moment, it's just going round and round," Don Munro said. <br /> <br />"It's taken the Minister and the Premier, I think, quite a long time to really move on it. <br /> <br />"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. <br />"Yes, we want that to happen now, we need that to happen now." <br /> <br />Mr Blair said the Government was acting as quickly as it could. <br /> <br />"We've had the meetings to determine where we are going to put them, the manufacturers then are the ones that have to build them to be site-specific," he said. <br /> <br />"If this was easy we would have had them in the water." <br /> <br />'Something needs to be done' <br /> <br />Earlier, Ballina's mayor David Wright demanded the Government bring in planned extra aerial patrols, eco-shark nets and more lifeguards immediately.
