The 48-year-old was flown to a Perth hospital on Friday night in a stable condition.
Authorities from the Department of Fisheries were patrolling the area after the attack and believe the species was a tiger shark.
Newlyweds Halley and Jacob Zurzulo saw the man being escorted back to shore in what they thought was an arrest. It took us ages to figure out what was happening. It literally looked like someone was being arrested, Ms Zurzulo said on Facebook.
Mr Highlands is seen being escorted to shore after the shark attack near Broome in WA on Friday
A police car sped across the sand in front of the Zurzolos, who were married six days earlier and were about to go for a swim before the scene unfolded in front of them.
A man in his 40s has been bitten by a shark swimming at a popular tourist beach in Western Australia - the second attack in the country this week.
The swimmer was attacked at Quandong Beach near Broome at 1:20pm local time (11:20am AEST) on Friday morning while driving with friends between 300 and 500 metres offshore.
The man is being attended to by emergency services but is in a stable condition, breathing and speaking to paramedics.
It s believed a three-metre tiger shark bit the man, according to a boat that brought the man back to the beach.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is currently investigating the situation.