The Department of Fisheries may have incorrectly killed two great white sharks following a non-fatal shark attack at a beach near Esperance in Western Australia.

Twenty-three-year-old surfer Sean Pollard lost one arm in the attack on Thursday morning, but is reported to have told authorities he was attacked by two bronze whaler sharks.

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In a statement, the Department of Fisheries said two large great white sharks had been killed in the Wylie Bay area near Esperance and were being transported to Perth for research purposes.

The manager of the shark response unit at the Department of Fisheries, Lisa Clack, said the great whites had been killed because they were a breed known to attack.

“On the basis that white sharks of this size are known to have bitten humans, often with fatal consequences, the decision has been made to destroy the shark humanely,” Ms Clack told the ABC.

The Western Australian government has come under fire over their controversial shark cull program which sees sharks at popular swimming and surfing spots removed and killed.