The death of a man who was snatched from his fishing boat by a crocodile in Kakadu is a warning for other anglers, according to an inquest.

Bill Scott was grabbed by a saltwater crocodile as he tried to fill a bucket while fishing in Kakadu National Park in June last year.

It is thought to be the first time a crocodile has been bold enough to attack and kill a human in a boat.

A coronial inquest has found there should be warnings about the increased risk of crocodiles attacking boats, particularly smaller vessels.

The inquest also looked into the death of Lanh Van Tran, who was killed by a saltwater crocodile when he waded into the Adelaide River to free a snagged fishing line in August 2014.

The last thing Tran’s wife, Thi Ban Le, heard her husband say was: “Oh my God, I’m dead.”

Tran, a farmer, liked to go out along the croc-infested river with his wife. He thought it was safe and had not seen any crocodiles that day.

Coroner Greg Cavanagh said while there was no sign warning of hidden crocodiles in that part of the river at the time, he was not sure it would have made a difference.

“Ms Le didn’t think so. She said, ‘Despite all the warning, no one can expect that there will be a crocodile [under the water],’” Cavanagh said.

Cavanagh also said the circumstances of the two deaths suggest a warning would probably be “missed, forgotten or ignored”.

The Northern Territory government said it will act on the coroner’s findings.

“Fishing is the lure of the Territory ... and we will do as much as we can to help prevent another life being tragically taken by a crocodile,” the Parks and Wildlife Commission’s chief executive Andrew Bridges said.