Four crocodiles — one nicknamed Pugly by locals — have been killed in abandoned fishing nets in Queensland's Cape York, infuriating locals.

The saltwater beasts were snared in a large mullet net that was anchored to mangroves in the Escape River, near Turtle Head Island.

Two had decayed to just their bones, the other two were bloated and floating belly up, believed to have died up to a week ago.

A tourist came across the gruesome scene and alerted Turtle Head Island residents Rusty and Bronwyn Tully, who pulled the reptiles from the river yesterday.

The crocodiles were towed back to shore by locals. ( Supplied: Torres Pearls )

The pearl farming couple said they were disgusted and saddened by the "unnecessary" loss of animal life.

Mr Tully said the abandoned net had filled with fish, which attracted the crocodiles.

"Gosh dang it's so sad and so ridiculously careless and selfish to just leave a net like that set in a river," he said.

"We're quite disgusted."

Bronwyn and Rusty Tully said they saw some of the crocodiles regularly. ( Supplied )

The couple said they knew the crocodiles and had developed a relationship with them — even nicknaming one Pugly.

"Every time we walked in and out of the kitchen, depending on the tide, we saw it lying on the sandbank," he said.

"My wife and I would be working in our boat and mate, he was coming up within 15 metres, just boldly looking at us and getting a little bit too keen on a relationship.

"From the day he appeared, he just had a real mongrel look about him."

Two crocodile skulls pulled from the ghost nets measured more than 30 centimetres. ( Supplied: Torres Pearls )

A female crocodile, also caught in the net, had been photographed by tourists from all around the world and was described by Mr Tully as "a media tart".

"Even though we had a chequered relationship with them, it's just so cheap and unnecessary," he said.

The couple now hold concerns for other crocodiles moving into the river after years of managing the current population.

"The door is totally open for something new to come in and we don't know which crocs it's going to be and what its habits are going to be," Mr Tully said.

'Not an unusual occurrence'

The Queensland Department of Environment and Science (DES) said it was making enquiries into the deaths.

DES wildlife operations regional manager Michael Joyce said the occurrence was problematic.

"The reality is we do get crocodiles that die in nets and crab pots — that's not an unusual occurrence — certainly any crocodile that dies is a problem," he said.

"I think the reality is the loss of any of our wildlife is sad.

"That's probably the first one I've seen out of that part of the world for a long time.

"The net looked like it had been there a little a while, one crocodile goes after another crocodile — they're just trying to eat each other."

Mr Joyce urged anyone with information about the deaths to contact the department.