Shocked family opens up about 10yo Tasmanian shark attack

A great white shark "grabbed" 10-year-old Lucas Arnott while he was fishing with his father John about five kilometres off the coast.

The boy's grandfather David Arnott said the family was "all suffering a bit of anxiety and stress" in the wake of the attack.

Mr Arnott said the group was "not cleaning fish" at the time of the attack and speculation to the contrary was "unhelpful".

"As has been reported, a shark, unprovoked and undetected before the attack, jumped out of the water and grabbed Lucas, pulling him over the side of the boat into the water," he said.

"John recovered Lucas from the water, he was brought ashore at Stanley.

"We are grateful to those who helped administer first aid until the paramedics arrived. Lucas had surgery at Launceston General Hospital on Friday night. His condition is stable."

Mr Arnott said the family did not want to discuss when Lucas would be released from hospital or what long-term impact the attack would have on him.

He said the family "just want to get Lucas home and work through his issues".

"As you would understand it was a shock to all those involved, a shock to our family," he said. "It's taken a while for us to actually digest what's happened and we just ask for some privacy at this time."

Mr Arnott wanted to thank the staff at the North West Regional Hospital and the Launceston General Hospital for "looking after all of the family".

He also thanked "those people at Stanley for their support".

"It's what I expect of small communities, looking after each other...," he said. "We'd just like to go home and just relax and sort out a few things."

The Stanley incident follows a spate of shark attacks across Australia in the last year, including five fatal attacks.

It also follows an attack on Tasmania's Justine Barwick in 2018, which left her in a critical condition.