A man who survived a shark attack off Australia's south coast Tuesday poked the animal in its eyes after it chomped down on his head, said police.

Eric Nerhus, 41, is recovering in a hospital with a broken nose and chest injuries after being attacked while diving near the eastern town of Eden, about 400 kilometres south of Sydney. He is in serious but stable condition.

A great white shark lunges to the surface of the water with its razor sharp teeth bared in this undated photo.
(Discovery Channel/ Tom Campbell/ Associated Press)

"It appears that the shark [had] taken the diver completely into its mouth and … bitten him," said Sgt. Jim Hinckley, with Eden Water Police.

"The diver had the presence of mind to poke it in the eyes and was eventually spat out."

Nerhus said the three-metre shark took his head in its mouth and bit down, said his friend Denis Luobikis

"He explained to us how his weight vest and his goggles probably saved him because the lead in the weight vest, the shark bit that," he said.

"The other set of teeth went across his goggles and crushed it in his face. That's how he broke his nose."

After the shark came back for a second bite, Luobikis said his friend used a piece of diving equipment to strike the shark in the head.

Nerhus was pulled from the water by his 25-year-old son and rushed to a hospital, suffering blood loss and shock.

"Eric is a tough boy. He's super fit," said Luobikis. "But I would say that would test anyone's resolve, being a fish lunch."

Veteran diver John Smythe said the shark, believed to be a great white, likely believed Nerhus was a seal.

"The seal population from Green Cape down to Cape Howe has sort of increased in the last few years," he said.

Shark attacks are relatively common in Australian waters, home to some of the world's deadliest sea life. Scientists say there are an average of 15 shark attacks a year in Australia — one of the highest rates in the world — and just over one per year are fatal.

With files from the Associated Press and Australian Broadcasting Corp.