Great white shark jumps into fisherman's boat

An Australian fisherman was knocked off his feet when a nine-foot great white shark leapt into his boat while the skipper was fishing off Evans Head in New South Wales on Saturday.

SEE ALSO: Terrifying moment great white shark attacks kayaker

SEE ALSO: Man feeds shark by hand

The shark's pectoral fin hit 73-year-old Terry Selwood, "relentlessly knocking" him around the boat and injuring the elderly fisherman.

Speaking to ABC, he said: "There I was on all fours and he's looking at me and I'm looking at him and then he started to do the dance around and shake and I couldn't get out quick enough on to the gunwale.

"I was losing a fair amount of blood, I was stunned. I couldn't register what happened and then I thought, 'Oh my God, I've got to get out of here.'"

He alerted marine rescue volunteers at Evans Head and was picked up by crew before they returned to retrieve the boat with the 200kg shark on board.

Writing on Facebook, Marine Rescue NSW said Selwood was found "covered in blood with numerous lacerations on his right forearm" before he was taken to be treated for his injuries.

"The fisherman explained that at the time of the incident he was sitting on an esky located in the centre of his boat when suddenly without warning the 2.7 metre Great White Shark jumped out of the water clearing the engine and landing on the deck where it violently thrashed about," the Marine Rescue said.

"In the process, it knocked the stunned 73 year old fisherman onto the deck as well. Fighting to get to his feet and as far away from the shark as possible, the fisherman was relentlessly knocked about the deck and cabin which is where he sustained most of his injuries. Eventually the fisherman was able to clamber up onto the port side gunwale of the boat where he remained while the shark continued to thrash about the deck of the boat. The fisherman was able to contact the Evans Head Marine Rescue Tower on channel 16 via a handheld VHF marine radio where the rescue was initiated and coordinated from."

The great white shark was handed over to the Department of Primary Industries for research purposes.