DES investigates as Queensland fisher describes 4-metre crocodile jumping into his boat on NYE

A Queensland fisherman's ordeal of a crocodile leaping into his tinny with its "jaws wide open" has sparked a state government investigation and warning.

Mackay local Richard Brookman said the close call on New Year's Eve was "one to remember".

The 45-year-old said he had been fishing for about 4 hours in his 3-metre tinny up Jane Creek at St Helens Beach, an hour north of Mackay, on Sunday night.

At about 10pm he had "that eerie feeling that something was watching me".

"I turned the headlight on and had to look up the creek and there's these eyes coming straight for me."

The experienced fisherman said initially he was not afraid of the reptile, which he estimated to be at least 4 metres long, but that changed as it moved closer.

"It wasn't until they [the animal's eyes] actually got pretty much in line with me that I'd seen how big he actually really was, and I thought, 'Oh, I'm in trouble'," Mr Brookman said.

"He went up past me and then he swung out to the middle of the creek and then drifted back with the tide.

"I stood up to go back down to the back of the boat, then he went under and I thought, 'This is not going to end well'.

Mr Brookman said he had to jump over the crocodile to retrieve his anchor before the animal over-balanced and fell into the water, which he said caused the rails of the tinnie to bend.

He said he felt "numb" after the close call.

"It was just sort of sheer luck then that he slid out. I think my [late] grandfather was looking after me," Mr Brookman said.

The ordeal has left Mr Brookman shaken, scared and worried that a similar incident could happen to somebody else.

"It is a dangerous big animal and the only thing I can think of is if you've got a couple of kids in the boat — he's not scared of humans, he's not scared of boats and he could take anyone out."

Incident under investigation

The Department of Environment and Science (DES) is investigating the incident after speaking to the fisher.

"To launch themselves at a boat near a boat or at a person, it's not what we would call typical [crocodile] behaviour," senior wildlife officer Jane Burns said.

"It is concerning behaviour, so it is definitely getting investigated and we'll look further into this animal's behaviour."

She said incidents of crocodiles jumping into boats were usually accidental.

"When people are in very small, narrow stretches of creeks and there are animals on banks, it's just natural behaviour for them to try and get into the water as quick as possible and sometimes they will skip across a vessel or come very close to it, but they're simply trying to just get into the water," Ms Burns said.

But she said an animal of this size was unlikely to be afraid to approach a smaller boat.

"An animal would look at a smaller boat more as something to his size that he would feel comfortable to go up and investigate," Ms Burns said.

She said while this animal was not previously known to the department, precautions had been taken.

"In this particular case, there has been recent warning signs put up at the boat ramp," Ms Burns said.

"That's the nearest point people will use to launch their boats into this body of water.

"Wildlife officers will go out into the creek to do a behavioural assessment during day and night hours.

"So we really just have to determine whether the animal is still there and whether it will be declared as a problem crocodile."

Calls for relocation

Mr Brookman said he wanted to see the crocodile relocated and raised the issue with Mirani MP Stephen Andrew, from One Nation.

Mr Andrew, who had previously called for a crocodile cull in north Queensland, alerted the department.

He supported calls to relocate the reptile.

"This is a dangerous thing. It's happening more and more in Queensland and they need to do something," Mr Andrew said.

"The reason I've got so much urgency on it is I know that a lot of people go and poach [crab] pots this time of year and they're even going at night-time."