Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources Svandís Svavarsdóttir visited Kolgrafafjörður on Snæfellsnes in West Iceland, where thousands of herring died in December, yesterday to speak with landowners.

Svandís met with the farmer at Eiði Bjarni Sigurbjörnsson and other landowners in the area to discuss the situation. The herring has reportedly been decomposing quite quickly.

Svandís, who was accompanied by the director of the Environmental Agency of Iceland and staff from the Marine Research Institute and the West Iceland Center of Natural History, said it was very important to set up a plan for monitoring the conditions in the fjord, in cooperation with local inhabitants and the relevant institutions, Morgunblaðið reports.

As reported in mid-January, the herring are to be left to decompose naturally, according to a decision by the Environment Agency of Iceland and the West Iceland Center of Natural History. Between 25,000-30,000 tons of herring died due to lack of oxygen.

The smell of the rotten fish, about which nearby residents had earlier complained, has now gone but a dispute on the clean-up has been ongoing.

A massive number of birds have been feeding in the fjord.

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ZR