Shark victim Lisa Mondy's arm bitten through to bone in Port Stephens attack

LISA Mondy's passion for water sports almost cost her her life when she was savagely mauled by a shark while wakeboarding yesterday.

Ms Mondy suffered serious injuries to her left upper arm and neck when she was attacked off Jimmys Beach at Port Stephens, on the New South Wales Mid-North Coast, The Daily Telegraphreported.

The shark, described as being between 3m and 4m long, struck about 1pm in clear water after Ms Mondy, 24, fell from her wakeboard.

Lunging from the deep, the monster predator pulled her underwater before letting go, attacking a second time then finally darting off.

Marine experts are yet to determine the species of shark responsible but the attack happened in almost the same spot where a 2m great white mauled surfer Ben Morcom in 2007.Still conscious, Ms Mondy stayed afloat thanks to her lifejacket until friends got her back aboard their boat.

She was flown to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle and went straight into emergency microsurgery to try to save her arm.

Close friend Michael "Didge" Hopkins saw Ms Mondy soon after she got back on dry land.

"She was in a lot of pain. It freaked me out a bit," he said.

"I just had a glance and I looked away.

"I don't need a memory like that in the back of my head."

Westpac rescue helicopter crewman Glen Ramplin said that the shark had bitten through to the bone "for pretty much the circumference of her arm".

Mr Hopkins said Ms Mondy was a "water-chick" who worked with a local whalewatching company and spent much of her spare time there too.

"We work on dolphin trips together, we snorkel together, we're both in the water all the time," he said.

"It's what we do - it's our job and it's her passion. When you're in the water every day you're always aware of the risk of sharks but never think it's going to happen to you."

John West, who runs Taronga Zoo's Shark Attack File, said that attacks on wakeboarders, water skiers and kiteboarders were extremely rare.

Nick Peterson, 18, was fatally mauled by two great whites just a few hundred metres off Adelaide's West Beach in December 2004 when he fell from a surfboard being towed by a boat.

In February last year, Stephen Schafer, 38, died when attacked after falling from his kiteboard off a beach on Florida's Atlantic Coast.

Mr West said the sharks might be attracted to a boat's wake and the acoustic signature it made.

He said the splashing and froth could seem like a school of fish.

Investigators from the state government's Shark Attack Response Plan team will study bite marks in Ms Mondy's lifejacket and detailed photographs of her wounds to work out the species of shark responsible.

She remained in a serious condition last night but Mr Hopkins was optimistic about her recovery.

"If anyone was going to be able to deal with this, I'd put my money on it being Lisa."