Crocodile victim identified as Berry Springs local and farmer

THE NT fisherman taken by a saltwater crocodile at the Adelaide River, near Darwin, has been identified as Berry Springs local and Vietnamese farmer Tran Van Lanh.

Jo Walker took this photo in January of 'Michael Jackson' the saltwater crocodile who resides near the Adelaide River bridge and recently was shot and killed after taking a fisherman from the river bank as he waded in to retrieve his hook. MUST CREDIT Picture: Jo Walker

Bare-foot prints in the mud lead to the water’s edge on a dirt track next to the Adelaide River.

This is where Berry Springs local and Vietnamese farmer Tran Van Lanh, 57, was taken by a crocodile when he waded into the water to free a lure from a snag.

A snagged line leads into the water at the site of the fatal crocodile attack on the Adelaide River. Picture: Elise Derwin

Following the attack NT police and the Parks and Wildlife crocodile management team searched the area, shot a saltwater crocodile, and retrieved human remains.

Tran Van Lanh’s wife was with him when he was attacked, and frantically raised the alarm about a kilometre away, where Adelaide River Queen Cruises Tony Blums was locking up his office on Monday night.

The fishing spot on the Adelaide River where 57 year old Tran Van Lanh was taken by a crocodile while trying to retrieve his fishing line from a snag. Picture: Elise Derwin

“She was pretty upset,” Mr Blums said yesterday.

“She doesn’t speak English very well.

“So it was very difficult to get a coherent story out of her.”

Mr Tran’s work mate – who did not want to be named – said Mr Tran’s wife had called him just after 6.30pm on Monday telling him about the attack.

He said he lived and worked on the Berry Springs market garden with Mr Tran and Mr Tran’s wife. He said the couple had lived on the property for about two months, but he thought they had lived somewhere around Darwin for about two years.

“Yesterday I come back from work, on my way home, she ring me and say he had been taken by a crocodile. It’s really shocking,” he said.

“Actually he was a really nice guy. A quiet guy. He was a very hard worker. That’s all I know.

“I just know him since he moved in.”

A pile of catfish on the bank at the site of the fatal attack. Picture: Elise Derwin

He said Mr Tran and his wife fished for catfish many times on the Adelaide River.

The shot 4.5m crocodile shot by police following the attack was a pied, half-albino crocodile called Michael Jackson - but also known as Casper by some.

FISHERMAN TAKEN BY CROC KNOWN AS MICHAEL JACKSON

“If it was Michael Jackson it would be quite sad because he was quite unusual,” Mr Blums said.

The croc known as ''Michael Jackson'' due to his unusual colouration. Picture: Alison Bevege

Mr Tran had been fishing in the exclusion zone 200m either side of the bridge where crocodile cruises are banned from operating because it is too close to people.

The attack happened downstream of Mr Blum’s business, on the far side of the Arnhem Hwy Bridge.

Asked if the jumping crocodiles model is safe and if it encourages crocodile attacks, he said: “I know what we do is quite safe.

“This business has been here 29 years and there’s others been here 15 years.

“This has nothing to do with jumping crocs and it’s to do with a fisherman getting into the river to retrieve a lure from a tree.”

CROC TAKES MAN FROM BOAT IN KAKADU

Adelaide River Cruises operator Morgan Bowman is about 20km downstream from where the accident happened.

''Michael Jackson'' jumps for a piece of meat during a jumping croc cruise on the Adelaide River. Picture: Alison Bevege

“I don think (feeding jumping crocodiles is dangerous),” he said.

“It’s really irrelevant to our cruise.

“There’s access to the river at the boat ramp and at no other area.

“I don’t think (feeding) encourages them at all. I think they get lazy. They get used to boats.”

When asked for an estimate of the amount of crocs in the Adelaide River, he offered 2500, but said it would certainly be more than 1000.

“It’s pretty safe what we do,” he said.

“It’s not going to stop people going on the water.

“I knew as soon as it happened it was going to affect everyone.”

CROC EATS SHARK

Spectacular Jumping Crocodiles operator Peter Saltmarsh said the death was about 500m from his jetty.

“It’s bad luck. It could have happened anywhere. If you get in the water...” he said.

“(Michael Jackson) stands out so other crocs are fighting him all the time.

“He’s not a happy croc.”

”Michael Jackson” would frequently fight with other crocodiles because his albino head made him stand out. Picture: Lane Johnson

“Fishing for catfish is popular with the Asian market gardeners,” Mr Saltmarsh said.

“It’s all about education. We’ve got to learn to live with crocs. We can’t shoot them all.

“It’s just unfortunate.

“We’ve got to give all credit to Tommy Nicholls and the croc management unit. They were over there straight away.”