A north coast teenager says he has no doubt the shark he saw breach while surfing at the Evans Head Main Beach this morning was a great white.
Jyeden Grainger said he was surfing with his two brothers when a three-to-four-metre shark jumped out of the water.
He said all three made it safely back to shore.
The 14-year-old said sharks were still on the minds of local surfers after a man was severely mauled by a great white at the same spot in late July.
"We were talking about sharks and great whites and everything the day before, because I wanted to go for an early surf and they weren't keen because there were shark sightings," he said.
"And so we didn't go out, and then it was there.
"There were people installing shark alarms in the surf club at the time, and he'd just finished one and had to play it straight away.
"So we went and told him, then we told the caretakers and then rang the Coast Guard."
The Richmond Valley Mayor, Ernie Bennett, said the new sirens will be tested and ready for use in the next two weeks.
He said the alarms would be activated by members of the surf club or the Marine Rescue Unit at nearby Razorback Lookout.
"Those people will have the ability to do that, the same as the surf club," he said.
"Those people will have the ability to do that, the same as the surf club," he said.
"The general public will have a button on the beach near the surf club that they'll be able to push.
"That will go through an intercom system where they'll talk directly to the control room, and then once it's confirmed that it's just not some kid playing or whatever, then the siren will be triggered."
The sighting comes just two weeks after the New South Wales Government announced it would spend $16 million to help prevent shark attacks on the state's coastline.
The announcement was designed to restore the confidence of beachgoers this summer, following a spate of shark attacks.
There have been 13 shark attacks, including a fatality, in New South Wales so far this year.
The exact details of the strategy have not been announced, but it will include an increase of aerial surveillance on beaches and a trial of new technology.
The plan includes the use of drones, in-water sonar to track shark movements, and an app that can be used to track them in real-time.
There will also be a trial of physical barriers along the coast.
