Hale'iwa merchants and residents complained loudly yesterday about a foul odor that's permeated the atmosphere in town for the past several days.

"It smells really bad — like a rotting dead person or manure," griped Christy Swanson, sales clerk at Strong Current surf shop. "Customers are coming in and saying, 'What is that smell?' It's come in the store and permeated the business. Local restaurants are losing business because no one has an appetite."

Resident James Mensching said the big stink began about four days ago and wafted across the town, beginning at about the North Shore Market Place, and spread all the way to near the Queen Lili'uokalani Protestant Church — dissipating near the Anahulu Stream Bridge (also known as Rainbow Bridge).

"It was strong," said Mensching. "It wasn't part of the usual smells associated with the harbor. Usually, these smells go away by this time. But this one is as strong now as right after it began. It smells like dead fish."

Although police and firefighters who cover Hale'iwa know all about the stench, have heard the complaints and have checked into it, there was no official word last night about the cause.

However, authorities are checking into reports that the smell is coming from a farm on the mountain side of town where fields were treated with a bone-meal fertilizer before last week's heavy rains.

The farmer has been unable to plow the fertilizer under while the ground is still soggy and must wait until the field dries.

How long that could be is uncertain. In the meantime, North Shore residents say they definitely won't be praying for rain.

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.