Yoann Galeran, 29, was attacked by the saltwater crocodile off the East Arnhem Land coast yesterday. He has suffered wounds to his back, neck and head.
"I just feel that I've been lucky and I just think [if it was] a bigger crocodile, I maybe wouldn't have any head," he said.
Galeran was with friends at a yacht club in the town of Nhulunbuy when he agreed to swim out to a dinghy moored about 20 metres offshore, ABC News reported.
"I just had the feeling that if I want to fight for my life, I just need to move all my body as much as I can," he said.
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Galeran's boss, Lisa Heathcote, said the crocodile has been lurking in the area for the past few weeks.
The manager of Arnhem Fisheries said she saw the fisherman when he came out of the water after fighting the reptile off twice.