FEARS are growing for a man who is thought to have been dragged overboard by a great white shark during a fishing competition on Saturday.

A major air and sea search is to resume to desperately find the fisherman off the New South Wales coast in Australia.

The man was taking party in the interclub fishing competition yesterday off the coast of Port Stephens when he dramatically fell overboard on Saturday.

It’s understood that fisherman was then horrifically dragged under by a great white shark.

The NSW Water Police, Marine Rescue NSW and the Life Saver Rescue helicopter were desperately searching the area 55km off the Newcastle coast, north of Sydney.

And around 30 fishing vessels, including some of those in the competition, joined in on the search.

The rescue operation for the fisherman has so far taken the shape of a line search across the water.

Authorities have also undertaken drift testing to desperately find him.

Inspector Paul Stitt from NSW Ambulance said paramedics were on standby for the missing fisherman.

He said: “We are using all of our resources to hope for a positive outcome.”

Game fishing competitions are widely popular off this particular coastline due to the deep water and warm currents where fish and sharks like to inhabit.

A mere few days ago a group of anglers came across another great white shark in another competition.

The shark managed to get away with half of their catch.

It comes after a man in his 20s was airlifted to hospital after being attacked by a shark in waters off a popular tourist island.

The victim was found suffering from abdominal injuries and deep lacerations to his leg.

Emergency services rushed to the scene near Moreton Island, Queensland, Australia, just after 3pm on Saturday.

The man was treated at the scene before being flown to Princess Alexandra Hospital in a stable condition, a Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) spokeswoman said.

Authorities have yet to confirm what species of shark was involved in Saturday’s attack.

Moreton Island, a popular tourist hotspot north of Brisbane, is known for its pristine beaches and the Tangalooma Wrecks – a collection of scuttled ships that have become a famous diving and snorkeling site.

The attack marks the fourth shark incident in Queensland this year.