A man is in a serious but stable condition after being attacked by a shark at Glenfield Beach in Western Australia.

The man in his 50s, identified as Mel Ismail, was surfing north of Geraldton when he was attacked at around 9.45am on Monday. He was roughly 40m offshore when he was bitten, local media reported.

Mr Ismail was taken to Geraldton Health Campus under priority one conditions, St John Ambulance said, after suffering serious leg injuries.

Ms Ismail is a staff member of the state’s fire and emergency services department, according to acting commissioner Melissa Pexton.

Authorities removed a badly damaged surfboard from the scene and sent it for testing to help identify the shark species involved.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said that officials were working with local authorities to respond and that no shark activity had been reported to the City of Geraldton in the 30 days before the attack.

The beach, roughly 430km north of Perth, was closed in the wake of the attack, with residents asked to avoid the area.

Cadeyn Catto, a local resident and regular beach visitor, said the incident had shaken the community.

“My kids have grown up there and we spend most weekends on that beach and to this point it felt very safe,” he told ABC News.

“I know over time we’ve had one or two little incidents, but nothing to this calibre.”

He said the injured man was a well-known regular surfer.

Geraldton MP and shadow fisheries minister Kirrilee Warr said she was seeking further details from authorities.

“I do understand the victim is a well-known surfer amongst the community,” she added. “We are really close-knit and when something like this happens, it does ripple. Those first responders, they would have been confronted with quite a scene, so I do hope that they are also receiving some support in and after this event.”

She renewed calls for the state government to review its shark mitigation strategy. “We know millions of dollars is being poured into this mitigation strategy,” the MP said, “but it simply isn’t good enough to stand there and say, ‘we have this strategy’, but not know if it works.”

Fisheries minister Jackie Jarvis defended the state’s protocols. “Western Australia has one of the most comprehensive shark hazard mitigation strategies in the country, using a range of measures to help keep people as safe as possible while they enjoy our coastline,” she said. “My thoughts are with the person injured in today’s incident, their family and everyone involved.”

The attack is the latest in a series of serious shark incidents in Western Australia this year.

Steven Mattaboni, 38, was killed, while spearfishing off Rottnest Island in May, and diver Daniel Turpin, 35, was killed by a suspected 4.5m shark near Michaelmas Island, off Albany, in early June.