'So stupid': Disbelief at man chest-deep, fishing in croc-infested waters
A group of fishermen in the Northern Territory were left in disbelief after they spotted an angler chest-deep in croc-infested waters.
Daniel Nielsen-Titus was fishing with two friends at Shoal Bay’s Hope Inlet near Darwin when they spotted the nonchalant fisherman seemingly unfazed by his precarious predicament.
“We came to a small area where we wanted to fish and we noticed something in the water,” Mr Nielsen-Titus told Yahoo7 News.
“As we got closer it was a man standing chest deep in water.”
The avid angler revealed not only was the spot notorious for crocodiles, there was clear evidence of the dangers present just metres away.
“Across from him was a croc trap with a 2 to 2.5m salty in it less then 50 metres away,” he recalled.
The Darwin fisherman said the group were stunned by the man’s lax approach and tried warning him of the potential dangers.
“We pointed out the croc to the guy. He was unfazed by the fact. He shrugged his shoulders and continued fishing,” Mr Nielsen-Titus said.
Man’s blasé act ‘shows lack of respect’
According to NT Government statistics, 59 of the 285 saltwater crocodiles caught this year have been at Hope Inlet.
The group’s disbelief quickly turned into anger, suggesting the man’s behaviour displayed a “lack of respect” for all involved.
“I’ve lived here my whole life and I would never do anything so blatantly stupid,” he said.
“Myself and my mates were stunned by it, angry even. It shows a lack of respect.
A lack of respect for his life, for the croc that inhabit the system up here and a lack of respect for the people if it all went wrong who would have to look for his body.”
Crocodile expert Grahame Webb told the ABC the man’s behaviour was “pretty damn risky” with just a quarter of an hour proving to be a potentially fatal timeframe.
“It’s a matter of whether it’s going to be five minutes or 10 minutes or 15 minutes. I don’t think you’d get beyond 15 minutes, no,” he said.
Mr Webb said while incidents such as this do occur, most local fishermen, such as Mr Nielsen-Titus, are “pretty well-educated” on crocodiles in the area.
The incident comes just months after a NT duo jumped into croc-infested waters after enjoying one too many beers on a day out fishing.