Three weeks after he was taken by a shark, upwards of 1,000 surfers gathered at Long Reef on Saturday to commemorate the life of Mercury Psillakis.

Joining the paddle out were members of the Long Reef and Dee Why surf communities plus surfers from elsewhere who knew Psillakis. The 57-year old had travelled widely and knew many surfers.

(Channel Nine)

“We were expecting about 1,000 people here, but I’m sure, as you can see from the aerial footage, that the paddleout was chockers,” said Long Reef Boardriders club president Tash Gee.

“It was a really sombre event, but also full of everyone cheering," said Gee. "It’s a celebration, not a mournful event.”

(Channel Nine)

Before the event Mike Psillakis - Mercury's twin brother - ran along the beach holding his surfboard in a tribute to what the pair did every morning. He later addressed the crowd, with people holding large palm fronds in a nod to Mercury's interest in palms.

Through tears, Mike spoke of their "beautiful connection" and how he had always looked up to him, as Mercury Psillakis's wife and daughter listened on.

(ABC News)

Friends of the Psillakis family have organised a GoFundMe page for Psillakis’ widow, Maria, and their daughter, Freedom, for which almost $150,000 has already been raised.

The day after the attack, Premier Chris Minns paused a trial to remove shark nets from three beaches across the Northern Beaches, Waverley, and Central Coast councils.

“Given this terrible event, we believe the right thing to do is to wait for the investigation to come back about how this happened, what happened and the circumstances surrounding it,” Minns said at the time.

“It did happen on a netted beach...but I want to get the information in front of us, so we can make a decision.”

The Department of Primary Industries is yet to release a formal report on the fatal shark attack on Psillakis. However, scientists confirmed the shark was estimated to be 3.4 metres to 3.6 metres long, based on an assessment of the surfboard.