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.