Noosa fisherman claims he spotted a crocodile at popular Noosa beach

A self-described avid fisherman claims he spotted a crocodile at a popular South East Queensland beach on Sunday, with the ‘unusual’ sighting sparking an investigation.

Vision from the boat’s fishing depth sounder. Picture: Facebook

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A fisherman says he spotted a crocodile at a popular Noosa beach on Sunday, with the “unusual” sighting sparking an investigation by the state government.

James Graham, a self-­described avid fisherman, said he first heard a rumour around the town on Sunday that someone had spotted a crocodile but admits he was sceptical at first.

“It’s the middle of winter (and) we’re in Noosa, (so) as if a crocodile would ever be here,” he told The Australian.

He decided to head out fishing with a close friend and “go a few hundred kilometres north” to see what he could find.

“It's good fun getting the Garmin fish finder out and scanning around to see what you can see,” he said.

Mr Graham says he would often find a sunken car, an old boot or a stick on the fish finder, but when the two of them weren’t getting any bites from fish, he knew something was “unusual”.

Experienced Noosa boatie James Graham spotted what he believed to be a saltwater crocodile in the Noosa River on his sounder on Sunday. Picture: Lachie Millard

“Next thing I know my mate goes ‘Look!’ pointing to the fish finder (of) something that looks a lot like a croc to me,” he said.

Several people, including Mr Graham, took to social media to share their photos and sightings of the crocodile.

While he admits he’s no croc expert, Mr Graham says he knows his fish finder well. “If you look at the imagery, you can see what looks to be a tail, two claws or legs and quite clearly a distinctive snout,” he told The Australian.

According to Craig Franklin, a croc expert from the University of Queensland, it was “a possibility” a croc was sighted at the Noosa Spit but the sighting needed to be confirmed. “It’s unusual (but) it’s a possibility. It’s not going to be a frequent occurrence because the water temperatures down here (further south) are a lot cooler, and that plays a major factor in the distribution of crocodiles,” he said.

A boat cruising on Noosa river on Monday morning in the spot where a crocodile was allegedly spotted on Sunday. Picture: Lachie Millard

The Noosa sighting follows others earlier this year in Bundaberg, Inskip Point and the Mary River in Hervey Bay.

A spokesperson from the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation said it was “aware of social media reports regarding a reported crocodile sighting” and was “investi­gating the matter further”.

“The Boyne River near Gladstone, some 300km to the north, is commonly considered the southern boundary of typical crocodile habitat.”

The department said a search of the Noosa area on Sunday found no evidence of any croc­odile but added that the investi­gation was ongoing.