A truck transporting fish has crashed in northern Germany, scattering hundreds of trout across the road.

Four people were injured in the accident, one of them seriously, and hundreds of trout died, a police spokeswoman said.

According to initial findings, the 56-year-old driver of the lorry skidded on the icy road and came to a halt across the lane.

Another truck hit it, pushing it through the central crash barrier where it hit a car travelling in the opposite direction.

A passenger of the car was seriously injured in the collision while the driver of the fish transporter and his passenger were slightly injured.

The fish transporter was carrying 7100kg of live trout, the police spokeswoman said, adding that it is not yet clear how many of them ended up on the road or died.

Both lanes were closed and clearance work is ongoing.

Police estimate the material damage at almost 200,000 euro ($A332,000).