A great white shark attacked a male swimmer off Manhattan Beach in Southern California Saturday morning, leaving him with a wound on his chest.

The man, who was later identified as Steve Robles, 40, was among a group of long-distance swimmers negotiating the Manhattan waters near a pier where a fisherman was hawling in his catch.

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The white shark was struggling to free itself from the fisherman's hook when the group of swimmers approached, biting Robles before it managed to escape.

Paramedics who rushed to the scene said the attacked swimmer had a "moderate bite" on his right chest, but did not need any breathing aid when he was brought to the Harbor UCLA Medical center.

Los Angeles Fire Department lifeguards said the incident happened around 9:30 a.m. Saturday, local time, while the Manhattan Beach was full of revelers who were out to celebrate the 4th of July Holiday weekend.

They said a fisherman, standinding on the pier, had caught the 7-foot shark and was trying to haul it in when the group of swimmers came within reach of the agitated 'great white' that was struggling to get its mouth off the hook.

Eyewitnesses, most of them paddlers and surfers who were also in the water, said they heard a loud scream and then saw blood spreading around the area of the accident, a scene that they described as "similar to the movie Jaws."

Authorities temporarily closed the beach as rescue helicopters hovered overhead, but re-opened it around 2:30 p.m.

Great white sharks are not an uncommon sight on Southern California's beaches, with some of them often straying near the pier.

Most of them are described as "juvenile whites" that are still learning to fend for themselves. The great white shark that attacked the swimmer on Saturday bit into the anchovies bait dangling from the fisherman's line.

California law mandates fishermen to release any shark that they accidentally catch but the fisherman, who was hauling in the shark for about 30 minutes before the accident happend, told authorities he could not immediately release the shark because there were a lot of people in the water at the time.

Tagsshark attack, California shark attack, Manhattan Beach shark attack, Great white shark