Surfer bitten by shark near Byron Bay

A man has checked himself in to hospital in Byron Bay after being bitten by a shark.

The bite, the seventh in the Byron-Ballina region since the start of last year, comes weeks after the Baird government dropped its opposition to installing shark nets in the region.

Police say they received a call at 7.30am on Monday that a man had checked himself in to Byron Bay Hospital after being bitten by a shark. 

The encounter was at Broken Head, south of Byron, police said.

The surfer was described as "conscious and breathing" with injuries that were not life-threatening.

An image posted to social media on Monday morning by Geoffrey Knapp showed several deep wounds to the surfer's thigh and bite marks on his surfboard. 

It is just weeks after teenager Cooper Allen was bitten by a shark at Lighthouse Beach at Ballina. He was helped from the water by fellow surfers, and was left with severe lacerations to his legs.

Two weeks ago, another surfer sustained minor injuries after he was bitten by a shark at Sharpes Beach, north of Ballina. The man drove himself to hospital. 

The latest incident comes after weekend protests against the nets, which are described by opponents as ineffective and a threat to the region's rich marine life, including turtles, dolphins and threatened sharks.

Supporters of nets say the same protection that is afforded to swimmers and surfers in beaches from Wollongong to Newcastle, including Sydney, should be extended to the Far North NSW after the spate of shark attacks.

Only one death from a shark bite has occurred at a netted beach since they were introduced in 1937.

Follow Peter Hannam on Twitter and Facebook.