Great white shark ‘bites canoe in HALF’ in horror attack off Oz as ‘plague’ of beasts descend off tourist town

A GREAT white shark attacked a canoe leaving it "bitten in in a horror attack off the Australian coastline.

The kayaker was lucky to be alive after the three-metre-long underwater beast bit a massive chunk out of his kayak.

The chilling attack took place just off Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales last Wednesday.

The great white snuck up on the sportsman from behind and tore off a huge section of his carbon-fibre vessel.

Thankfully the man wasn't injured in the attack and has already returned to the water with a loaned canoe to train for an upcoming event.

The man's six-metre canoe became unusable after a section behind where he sat was bitten right off - with the rest of the vessel covered in teeth marks.

The retired accountant flagged down a passing boat which was on its way to install a shark monitoring system.

A local told the : "The water went all bubbly - then it was all flat as a tack in seconds - it happened really quickly."

Local yacht club commodore John Wait said the attack came as no surprise.

He said waters around the popular tourist town had "plague proportions" of sharks at the moment.

"It's just one of those things - numbers will start to drop off again soon," he said.

Aussie authorities believe a white shark was likely responsible for the attack.

A spokesperson told the : "It was reported the man was kayaking between Pig Island and Coffs Harbour break wall when something struck the rear end of the kayak.

"NSW DPI shark biologists spoke to the man and assessed photographs of the kayak and the damage to ascertain if a shark was involved.

"The shark was not seen by any of the three kayakers in the area, but the bite indentations and profile in the kayak are indicative of a white shark."

It comes as horrifying footage surfaced showing hundreds of sharks lurking near unsuspecting beachgoers in Florida.

Swimmers appeared totally unaware of the shiver of sharks grouped together off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico at Pensacola Beach.

In footage, shared by , the drone scans the below beach, filming the bathers below.

Some people appear to be relaxing on the sand while others have waded out into the water - thankfully no one was attacked.