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SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- A 10-foot-long (3-meter-long) shark that nearly chomped a diver in half before he fended the giant fish off with a chisel probably mistook him for a seal, a shark expert said Wednesday.
Eric Nerhus, 41, was being treated for severe lacerations to his head, torso and left arm after coming head-to-head with the massive shark, believed to be a great white, while diving for abalone on Tuesday.
A witnesses said the shark grabbed Nerhus by the head, crushing his face mask and breaking his nose, before coming back for a second bite that engulfed his entire head and torso.
Nerhus managed to free himself from the shark's jaws but sustained deep cuts. He later said he had clubbed at the shark's head and eyes with an abalone chisel.
"He's had a run-in with one of the ocean's most formidable predators and he's lived to tell the story, so he's a very, very lucky man," Grant Willis, a shark expert at Sydney Aquarium, told Nine television on Wednesday.
The shark probably mistook Nerhus, who was wearing a black wet suit, for a seal, and may have released him once it realized its mistake, Willis said.
"So it has bitten in on this guy thinking he's a seal," Willis said. But the man "didn't taste anything like a seal, sort of a bit bony and horrible and nothing like a seal at all, so (it) possibly spat (him) back out."
Scientists say there are an average of 15 shark attacks a year in Australia -- one of the highest rates in the world -- and just over 1 per year are fatal.
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A great white shark.

 diver Eric Nerhus is recovering in hospital after being attacked by a 10-foot-long  while scuba diving off , south of Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday. 

Forty one year-old Nerhus said he was diving near the shore in murky waters, when the shark grabbed him by the head, crushing his diving mask. Nerhus fought back, poking the shark's eye socket with his fingers. The shark released him but came back again, grabbing Nerhus by his upper body, leaving deep lacerations on his torso. Nerhus managed to free one arm and stabbed the shark with a chisel. When the shark released him again, he made for the surface, where he was pulled out of the water by his 25-year-old son and was rushed to hospital. 

He is being treated for serious injuries to his head, body and left arm and is expected to remain in hospital for a few more days. He was able to recount his experience to reporters. 

Nerhus believes that the shark may have mistaken his black wetsuit and flipper clad figure for a seal, prompting the attack. Grant Willis, a shark expert at  agreed with the assessment, speaking to CNN. 

An average of about 15 shark attacks occur in Australia every year, of which one is fatal. This is one of the highest shark attack rates in the world.