Sydney mother mauled by shark undergoes multiple surgeries

The family of Sydney mother Leah Stewart, who was mauled by a shark last weekend, says she has undergone "multiple surgeries".

Ms Stewart was bitten while swimming between the flags at Coogee Beach just before 11am on Saturday.

The 35-year-old was taken to St Vincent's Hospital in a critical condition.

Her family has released a statement saying she sustained "life-threatening" injuries.

"She remains in a critical condition and has undergone multiple surgeries in the days after the attack," the family said in a statement.

"She will need extensive ongoing care, support and rehabilitation.

"As a family we are shocked and devastated that this could happen to our beloved partner, daughter, and mother who is so full of life and energy."

Her family said Ms Stewart was a Coogee local, a passionate teacher and a loving mother.

As a result of her injuries, the family are raising funds to help with her recovery and allow her to care for her daughter.

"We share our sincere thanks and gratitude to the lifesavers, first responders, helicopter crew and the dedicated medical team of doctors, nurses, and support staff at St Vincent's Hospital Sydney who have been caring for Leah," the family said.

"Our thanks to all who have reached out to the family with sympathy, care and prayer."

Ms Stewart suffered severe wounds to her left lower leg and arms after being attacked about 30 metres off shore by what is believed to be a white shark.

She was spotted by off-duty lifeguard Charlie Verco, who was training for a paddleboard competition, when her friend "started screaming 'shark'".

He then used a signal to indicate to lifeguards to clear the beach and prepare for triage before towing her to shore.

"She was lucid enough to say, 'Help', and respond to instruction, but she was very much in shock and definitely freaked out and wasn't able to have conversation," Mr Verco said on Sunday.

The 25-year-old said Ms Stewart lost consciousness about halfway to shore, requiring him to keep her head above water.

Describing the attack, Mr Verco said he saw Ms Stewart "getting dragged around a little bit" before he saw a "big shark come out of the water".

Once the pair reached the shore lifeguards applied tourniquets and began CPR.

Coogee Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) on Monday evening hosted a community gathering, where additional support and counselling were made available.

Coogee SLSC governor Tony Waller said it would be a multi-tiered effort to ensure people felt safe returning to the beach.

"We're going to put in place a plan moving forward so that everybody is looked after," he said.

"There's a lot of issues there to work with about the community feeling safe to go back in the water and how long that takes and how it becomes a part of their life."

Future of Coogee drones unclear

After a spate of attacks early in the year, the recent tragedy has renewed focus on the state's shark mitigation strategies, particularly on drones.

Coogee Beach is among one of the areas where drones are not permitted to be flown due to its proximity to Sydney Airport's flight path.

Surf Life Saving NSW (SLSNSW), however, was granted a temporary emergency exemption by the regulator allowing for the devices to be used for shark surveillance after the attack.

The NSW government has indicated they are working towards making the exemption permanent.

In a statement on Monday afternoon the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) described the attack as a "tragedy", saying they were a strong supporter of SLSNSW's work.

"In light of this incident, CASA will engage with Surf Life Saving NSW to explore whether the current approvals for operating at Coogee can be safely adapted to better support their operations," it said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns acknowledged the validity of CASA's rule but said the change had been important.

"Surf lifesaving has made it clear that they can have low orbiting drones very close to the surface of the ocean not in the flight path range," he said.

"And I think CASA's shown over last 24 hours — and we're grateful for this — that they're prepared to be pragmatic provided there's strict controls in place.

"I think that's going to be part of a longer term solution for beach safety."