A man who repeatedly punched a shark which latched onto his wife’s leg did the right thing, according to experts.

The 35-year-old woman was attacked by a great white shark at Shelly Beach in Port Macquarie on Saturday morning, sustaining severe lacerations to her right leg.

Shark expert Andrew Fox from Rodney Fox Shark Exhibitions told Jim Wilson the “statistics do show that the rescuer is going to be safe nearly all the time”.

“The shark has already invested its energy into the victim and it’s unlikely to attack the rescuer.

“It’s an effort-reward thing … and just like any bully in the playground the theory is to stand up to it.

“As soon as the effort overcomes the reward, particularly with an unfamiliar menu item, I think that’s a good strategy and that’s what happened here.”

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Image: Nine News