Using explosives to scare the herring in Kolgrafarfjörður away seems to have worked so the operation will continue on Friday.
The Coast Guard began the explosions on Thursday afternoon, using three dinghies to slowly round up the herring in the bay and direct it out to sea.
Eggert Magnússon, operation manager told Vísir.is that the herring were on the move. “Things are happening slowly, we need to experiment with this a bit.”
The Coast Guard uses so-called “Thunderflashes” to scare the herring off, small explosives which make a loud noise and vibrations underwater and are otherwise often used e.g. to alert divers to make them re-emerge.
The explosions were stopped after dark set on Thursday but will be continued on Friday if an assessment proves they’re a success.
According to Iceland’s Marine Research Institute estimate, around 70,000 tons of herring are trapped in the bay.
See footage from the operation on Vísir.is
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