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Jay Muscat, 17, was a keen fisherman.

Beaches in the area of West Australia where a 17-year-old boy was yesterday killed in a shark attack are set to remain closed today.

Spear fisher Jay Muscat was with a friend at Cheynes Beach - about 65 kilometres east of Albany in West Australia's Great Southern region - when he was attacked and killed around noon Monday (local time).

It is understood his friend was also approached by the shark but did not suffer serious injuries.The local Department of Fisheries confirmed the teenager's death was the result of a shark.

"It has been confirmed that at about midday this morning, a man suffered fatal injuries after being bitten by a shark," the department said.

It is believed at least two men, who were fishing from rocks nearby, saw the boy's body floating in the water.

Cheynes Beach is a small coastal settlement of fishing shacks, holiday homes and a caravan park, surrounded by Waychinicup National Park.

While a Fisheries Department spokeswoman initially said the department had no plans to send officers or a vessel to the area to search for sharks that may have been involved in the incident, that position has since changed.

The Department of Fisheries has deployed equipment in an effort to catch the shark, which a spokeswoman said was "most likely to be a white shark".

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Shark kills teen in Western Australia, beaches closed