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WA shark attack: Heartbroken family says teen died doing what she loved.

The family of a teenager who died after being mauled by a shark off Western Australia’s south coast while surfing says they are heartbroken, but take some comfort knowing she died doing something she loved.

Laeticia Maree Brouwer was surfing with her father at Kelp Beds at Wylie Bay, just a few kilometres from Esperance, about 4:00pm local time on Monday when she was attacked.

Family spokesman Steve Evans read a statement to the media at a conference in Esperance.

Mr Evans said Laeticia’s death had left the family heartbroken.

“Laeticia will be greatly missed by her family, friends and everyone who knew her,” he said.

“We can take some comfort that Laeticia died doing something that she loved.

“The ocean was her, and her family’s passion. Surfing was something that she treasured doing with her dad and her sisters.”

It is not yet known what type of shark was responsible for the attack on Laeticia.

There have been 15 fatal shark attacks in WA since 2000.

Marc Payne is a seasoned abalone diver in Esperance and said the number of great white sharks in the area has been growing.

“I’ve had quite an increase in interactions with white sharks of around about 200 per cent in the past three decades,” he said.

“Most of the interactions I’m getting are from the smaller size juvenile and teenage type animals.”

This post originally appeared on ABC News.

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