The thousands of herring which died in Kolgrafafjörður on Snæfellsness peninsula in December will be buried and left to decompose naturally, according to a decision by the Environment Agency of Iceland and the West Iceland Center of Natural History.

Kolgrafafjörður. Photo: Páll Stefánsson/Iceland Review.

The Environment Agency has emphasized the importance of continued monitoring of conditions in the fjord, Morgunblaðið reports.

As reported earlier, between 25,000-30,000 tons of rotten herring remain in the fjord after they died due to lack of oxygen.

The smell of the rotten fish, about which nearby residents complained last week, has now gone but a dispute on who is responsible for the clean-up has been ongoing.

A massive number of birds have been feeding in the fjord in recent days. According to the West Iceland Center of Natural History, there were around 25,000 birds in the fjord when the annual bird count took place last week. The herring also attracts killer whales and seals.

Click here to read more about this story.

ZR