A Northern Territory goose hunter has survived a crocodile attack after wrestling the animal and poking it in the eyes.

Stephen Moreen, 20, waded into the water to recover a goose he had shot when the crocodile - estimated to be about two metres long - launched out of the water and latched onto his right arm.

The attack happened yesterday evening near the remote community of Peppimenarti, about 320 kilometres south-west of Darwin.

"We were shooting geese, my cousin-brother told me go and get the duck there," he said.

"I just walked. I got the first goose. The second one. [Then] the number three one, he grabbed my on my arm.

"[The croc did] the death roll. Lucky for me when went underwater I saw him and poked his eye. He let go. Once he let go he ran for the bank.

"My cousin-brother shot him."

Mr Moreen said he was given first aid by his brother's wife and then taken by quad bike to the nearby Wudaduk Outstation where he waited for an ambulance and drank some beer to numb the pain.

He said he was not in pain because he had been "a little bit tipsy" when the crocodile attacked.

"I wasn't too worried until I saw the scars," he said.

"It made me cry. I'm fine, I'm alive. It could have been bad. It could have got my leg. I was about waist deep.

"I have a scratch on my back, the rest on my arm. He ripped out a bit of skin and left me with two to three holes."

Mr Moreen, from the Tiwi Islands, was visiting Peppimenarti to shoot pig, geese and emu.

He spoke to the ABC from the Peppimenarti Community Health Clinic while waiting to fly to Darwin for further medical attention.

Use gun dogs to avoid lurking crocs: Hunting president

Goose hunters should use dogs to retrieve shot birds from crocodile wetlands, said the president of the NT branch of Field and Game Australia, a national hunting association.

Bart Irwin said he had never heard of a crocodile attacking a goose hunter in recent decades, but he still took precautions such as using dogs when hunting in known crocodile habitat.

"I love my dogs but I love my legs," he said.

"I'd hate to lose one of my dogs. I try and hunt in areas where I don't put them in danger – but better them than me.

President of NT Field and Game Bart Irwin says shooters should use gun dogs to prevent crocodile attacks. ( Supplied: Bart Irwin )

"I've been running one to two Labradors up here for 20 years. I've never lost a dog. I've never seen a dog chased by a crocodile or encountered one myself, although I have seen them at Harrison dam in the off season.

"Walking along the wall in the dry season sun around about midday four crocodiles jumped off the wall and got in the water.

"I made sure I my had dogs on the lead that day and they stayed closed to me."

Waterfowl hunting is a revered tradition in the NT and each year the start of the season - this year on September 12 - is highly anticipated by the hunting community.

The sport is managed with a permit system and quota and hunters cannot shoot after dark.

Mr Irwin said the hunter was probably retrieving his birds when the crocodile attacked him about 7.20pm.

"I'm pretty sure the times for hunting close at the moment at 7:00pm," he said.

"So he was probably just collecting his birds. That sort of darkness gives the crocs the upper hand.

"I avoid many of the areas in the dark because of snakes or crocodiles that you can't see.

"You have to be very careful around water bodies and shore lines. Anything above ankle-to-calf deep is an area where you can't see crocodiles.

"When shooting try and ensure the birds are flying in a direction so that when they are shot they will land on dry land."