The World Surf League event in New Zealand was abruptly halted on finals day after a photographer was bitten by a sea creature.

Australian Ed Sloane was attacked just before 8.30am while documenting the men’s semi-finals at the New Zealand Pro, held near Raglan on the west coast of the North Island.

Sloane had puncture wounds to an ankle and had a flipper ripped off in the attack and it remained unclear on Monday afternoon which sea creature was responsible.

The photographer sustained minor injuries.

The competition was halted 10 minutes in and Brazilian surfers Yago Dora and Italo Ferreira were extracted from the water on jet skis.

“It’s the first time we have activated code red,” Renato Hickel, vice president of tours and competition, said on the WSL broadcast.

“This time it was our beloved water photographer Ed. Thank God he’s in good spirits. He’s well considering what happened.”

Hickel said the photographer had suffered minor puncture wounds from a bite and had been taken to hospital.

“At this stage we are not certain if it was a shark or a sea lion – the doctor on the scene was inclined to think it was a sea lion – nevertheless, very scary.”

In a statement, Sloane thanked people for the well wishes and said he was “doing OK”.

“I’ve had bites to my left foot and am getting medical attention. Massive thank you to our water patrol for the quick response, our medical team and all the support from our teams for the immediate assistance I received,” he said.

“I love this place and can’t wait to watch an epic finals day. Cheering for everyone for a great finish to the event.”

The event was put on hold until further assessments were made.

“The safety of our staff and competitors are our priority, and we will provide updates as further information becomes available,” WSL said in a statement.

Organisers were looking to resume Dora and Ferreira’s heat on Monday afternoon.

“Italo and Yago are obviously shaken, they saw the splash and the incident, so another reason to put the event on hold.”

It comes 11 years after Australian surf great Mick Fanning fought off a shark attack during competition at J-Bay in South Africa, an incident that was captured on live television.

The New Zealand Pro is the largest surf event New Zealand has hosted and hundreds of spectators lined Manu Bay to watch the competition. Attacks on surfers and swimmers in the region are extremely rare.