Beaches on the NSW mid north coast remain closed as the search for the shark that killed a young surfer continues.

Zac Young, 19, was bodyboarding with three friends at Riecks Point near Coffs Harbour on Saturday when a shark bit off his legs.

His friends dragged him to shore and tried to resuscitate him but he died a short time later.

The deadly attack came a week after a surfer was killed by a shark off Gracetown in Western Australia.

Beaches from Sawtell, just south of Coffs Harbour, to Woolgoolga, further north, remain closed on Sunday.

Police say the search for the shark resumed at first light.

Coffs Harbour police inspector Joanne Reid praised Zac’s friends for their bravery.

“His mates struggled with the shark for a short time, then the shark let go and his friends courageously managed to get him to shore,” she told reporters at the scene on Saturday.

But she told Sky News it took time and Zac lost a lot of blood on the way.

Surf Life Saving NSW manager Andy Kent said it was an “awful tragedy.”

“The hearts of all surf lifesavers go out to the family of this young victim,” he said in a statement on Saturday.

Coffs Harbour’s chief lifeguard Greg Hackfath said shark attacks were highly unusual in the area.

“We’ve had two recorded shark attacks … in 150 years of settlement,” he told News Limited.

“We see sharks but the common saying is that you don’t worry about them because they’re well fed.”