Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The shark that attacked a surfer at Sydney’s Bondi Beach earlier this month was a great white, the state government said, after scientists studied photographs of the man’s wounds.

The creature involved in the Feb. 12 attack was 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) long, New South Wales Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said in a statement today.

The attack was the first recorded at Australia’s most famous beach in at least 58 years, raising concerns the number of potential man-eaters in Australian waters is increasing. The great white is the largest predatory fish, responsible for more than a third of shark attacks worldwide, and grows to an average of 4.6 meters in length, according to National Geographic.

Macdonald said that although Sydney’s beaches have nets to deter sharks, “there are never 100 percent guarantees when swimming in the ocean.”

There have been at least 719 recorded shark attacks in Australia in the past 200 years, 193 of them fatal, according to the Australian Shark Attack File coordinated by Sydney’s Taronga Zoo. The last time someone was injured in a shark attack off Bondi was in February 1951, Macdonald said earlier this month after the 33-year-old surfer received severe injuries to his left arm.

Navy Diver

The Bondi attack came about 36 hours after a navy diver was mauled by a shark in Sydney harbor, resulting in him losing an arm and leg. That attack was carried out by a 2.7-meter bull shark, the state government said today.

While environmentalists say shark numbers are dwindling worldwide, other marine biologists say the population of some species, including the great white, is on the rise in Australia and that dwindling fish stocks are bringing them closer to land in search of food.

Several species, including the great white, tiger shark and bull shark are dangerous to humans. None are thought to target people and specialists say attacks occur when a shark confuses swimmers, surfers and divers with its usual prey. There are 165 shark species in Australian waters.

“In almost all cases, great whites tend to release the person after biting, probably as they don’t recognize the taste,” said Macdonald today.

In Australia, the states of New South Wales and Queensland install nets off popular beaches to deter sharks. The nets are set at intervals parallel to the beach and don’t form a barrier. Sharks can swim around or over them and many are caught on the beach side as they swim back out to sea.

Other states rely on aerial patrols and surf patrols and spotters on the beach to protect swimmers.

Since 1990, 21 great whites have been caught in the nets off beaches south of Sydney’s harbor, Macdonald said. Two great whites of about 2 meters in length have been caught off Bondi, one in December 2005 and one in November last year, he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 22, 2009 21:09 EST