The first person mauled by a shark in Sydney Harbour in more than a decade has credited her neighbours with saving her life after the evening attack.
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Lauren O'Neill was badly wounded when a shark bit her on the leg while she was swimming near a jetty at Elizabeth Bay, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, on Monday evening.
The 29-year-old said she was taking a short dip close to the shore when she was bitten by the animal, which authorities believe was a bull shark.
"(Lauren) wishes to thank her heroic and very kind neighbours for the critical assistance they provided her," a statement issued on her behalf on Wednesday said.
A vet and other neighbours have been praised for their quick-thinking after the attack, including applying tourniquets to Ms O'Neill's leg to stem the bleeding.
She is expected to make a full recovery, which she credited to the "extraordinary skills" of medical staff.
Ms O'Neill thanked her family, friends and colleagues for their unflinching care and support.
"She would also like to thank the public for their outpouring of support and kindness, and as she turns to focusing on her recovery, asks that her privacy and that of her family's be respected."
The avid kayaker and swimmer remains at St Vincent's Hospital, where she was rushed for surgery following the attack.
The incident was the first serious attack inside the harbour since 2009, when navy diver Paul de Gelder lost his right leg and hand to a bull shark.
It has prompted debate about the need for more anti-shark measures, including extra netted harbour pools, in order to protect swimmers.
But more shark nets in and around Sydney Harbour will not end shark attacks, NSW Premier Chris Minns said on Wednesday.
While the number of sharks in Sydney's estuaries was on the rise, the amount of attacks had not increased, he added.
"We do have to be vigilant in relation to this but we don't have a program to net off Sydney Harbour.
"We can't be in a situation - even on Sydney's big public city beaches - where we can provide a 100 per cent guarantee of having a swimming area that is devoid of ocean life. You just can't do it."
Locals have called for a public enclosed swimming area to be created at Beare Park, near the scene of the attack at Elizabeth Bay.
But plans to build the pool were put on hold by the City of Sydney council last year over water-quality concerns.
Shark nets and smart drumlines are deployed along some ocean beaches, but they are not used at sites within Sydney Harbour.
"Even the shark nets that we've rolled out at Cronulla, Maroubra, Bondi and the northern beaches don't cover the entire spectrum of the ocean - they only provide limited protection," Mr Minns said.
Warnings from surf lifesavers and drone technology would be the prevailing shark attack prevention strategies going forward, he said.
Shark researchers say there are likely more bull sharks in Sydney Harbour due to warmer water temperatures and the city's population growing, making encounters with humans more likely.
Sydney University shark policy expert Christopher Pepin-Neff said sharks engaged with their environment mainly by using their teeth, which could lead to them biting unfamiliar creatures.
Australian Associated Press
