A researcher from the Australian National University (ANU) says Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory who lose traditional food sources because of the cane toad may have grounds for compensation.

The ANU's Dr John Altman is about to begin a study on the potential impact of the cane toad on the traditional economies of central Arnhem Land.

Dr Altman says if local food sources are reduced because of the pest, the same rules of compensation should apply to traditional owners as they do to farmers who rely on the land.

"In some ways, it is really surprising that in Northern Territory, public policy it hasn't been because we know that indigenous people in significant numbers live off Aboriginal land," he said.

"If species on that land are going to be literally decimated in the short-term, more than decimated if there's going to be real decline, then the issue of compensation comes up."