A teenage girl has reportedly been bitten by a shark while surfing on the NSW central coast.
Police have been told the girl was surfing at Avoca Beach about 6.30am on Friday when the one-metre shark bit her on the left ankle.
The 13-year-old made her way back to shore and was treated by people on the beach.
She had puncture wounds to her left foot and a cut to her calf.
A bystander drove her to Gosford Hospital, where she remains in a stable condition.
A Gosford Council spokesman said both Avoca and North Avoca beaches had been closed.
"Lifeguard staff have and will continue throughout the day to monitor the site on jet-skis. Appropriate signage is in place and regular PA announcements will be made," the spokesman said.
Surf Life Saving NSW spokeswoman Donna Wishart said the Westpac Life Saver Helicopter was en route to the site to look for the shark.
"One metre is a reasonably small shark. All sharks are a threat, obviously, because they have great big teeth, but the smaller ones do pose less of a threat," Ms Wishart said.
"It does all depend on the ferocity of the attack and the location of the bite. This is on her lower leg, which is probably one of the better parts of the body to be bitten on."
A shark biologist will assess the wounds to determine if they were caused by a shark, a spokesman from the NSW Department of Primary Industries said.
"As a matter of process, we do assess the injury," the spokesman said.
"We have a shark biologist on standby. At this point we understand they are minor wounds to a left foot and we may use pictures of the injury for the assessment."
There has been no sign of the shark.
