Police and the NSW Regional Water Minister are at odds about why protesters were ignored during a day of mass fish death drama on the banks of the Darling River.

Key points: Niall Blair said police advised him not to meet with 150 locals about the mass fish kills

Niall Blair said police advised him not to meet with 150 locals about the mass fish kills But NSW Police told the ABC they never said that

But NSW Police told the ABC they never said that Mr Blair dodged the protest and met with a select few further down the river

A group of about 150 Menindee locals were hoping to grill Niall Blair about water management yesterday, but the closest they got to him was when he sped past in a boat.

The Minister has received several threats on social media since 1 million native fish died this week due to an algae bloom in the Darling River at Menindee, outback NSW.

It is the second such event at this location in a month.

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Mr Blair's office told the ABC police asked the Minister to avoid protesters and front the cameras downstream as a security precaution — a fact disputed by the force.

"Police were happy for him to move but they did not tell him to," a NSW Police spokesperson said.

As the Minister travelled past residents with placards in hands, the wash from the speed boat stirred up the dead fish causing the crowd to cover their noses.

One local resident yelled "slow down!", another, "you chicken!"

After avoiding the 150 protesters gathered, Mr Blair met with a select few in a different spot 400 metres upstream amid a heavy police presence.

"It stinks, it's rotten, it's putrid. And it's not just in the river, it's in our water systems through town," chairperson of the Menindee Barkandji Elders Group Patricia Doyle said.

"When you shower you can smell this water. Drinking this water? It's awful."

A spokesperson for the Minister later denied there was an official event organised with locals.

Sorry, this video has expired Viral video of mass fish kill

Menindee residents have also pointed the finger at water thirsty cotton growers, who they say are siphoning water from the river during a drought.

Cotton Australia, a peak representative body for cotton growers, responded to the criticism and said the drought has wreaked havoc on their industry.

They also they were tired of being the "whipping boy" and blamed the disaster on poor water management of the Barwon-Darling Basin.

"The recent fish deaths … at Menindee was a devastating sight. However, it is wrong to blame cotton growers for this incident," the lobby group said in a statement.

Locals in tears over river crisis

Mr Blair said the drought was to blame for the fish deaths.

"In a normal year, we would see around 4000 gigalitres coming into the system … in the first six months of this irrigation year, we've seen 30 gigalitres come in," he said.

"You can't dismiss the lack of inflows, particularly in our northern rivers, have not had an impact."

Some of the fish found dead near Broken Hill ( Supplied )

Many however are fighting this position, calling it a man-made disaster and symptom of mismanagement.

Menindee farmer Kate McBride said people in the area had been in tears.

"The Menindee lakes were drained twice within four years and each time it was drained it should have had seven to eight years worth of water," she said.

The Menindee Lakes are at 5 per cent capacity and are expected to be empty by the end of January.

Some of the native fish found dead this week in the Lower Darling River near Menindee Lake. ( Supplied: Rob Gregory )

However Mr Blair said it was a Federal Government decision to drain water from Menindee, and that the NSW Government only took control of their management when there was more than 480 gigalitres of water in them.

Federal Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources David Littleproud said: "NSW is managing the Menindee Lakes system because of the drought and they are responsible for water management in their catchments, including water allocation and compliance enforcement."