BODEGA BAY, California: A shark attacked a surfer on Sunday along Salmon Creek Beach north of Bodega Bay, California.

The man, said to be in his 30s, was bitten on his thigh and suffered critical, but non-life-threatening injuries, authorities added.

The Bodega Bay Fire Department arrived after receiving reports of the attack at around 9 am and found the victim in the parking lot of the beach, said Fire Captain David Bynum.

The man was helped by fellow surfers to the beach and then the parking lot, where they stopped the bleeding with a tourniquet.

The surfer was then flown by a California Highway Patrol helicopter to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital after being stabilized, but information on his condition was not available on Sunday afternoon.

According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, shark attacks along the California coast are extremely rare, with only 198 shark “incidents,” defined as a shark approaching and touching a person, being recorded since 1950, and only 14 fatalities.

Although the species of shark involved in the attack is not known, most incidents involved Great White Sharks, numbering 176 out of the 198 incidents.

In June, a 39-year-old swimmer was attacked by a Great White Shark off the coast of San Mateo County, and last year, a surfer died after being attacked south of Santa Cruz.

Great White Sharks have been spotted in increasing numbers around the coast of Santa Cruz County in recent years, with Monterey Bay becoming their ideal nursing grounds.