WHISKEY BAY - Department of Wildlife and Fisheries officials say a fish kill in the Atchafalaya Basin is the result of high temperatures and low water levels in the Southern Louisiana waterway.

LDWF started receiving calls about the fish kill earlier this week from motorists traveling on I-10 along the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, near Whiskey Bay and about 30 miles west of Baton Rouge. Now, they say nearly 3,000 fish have died as a result of the extreme aquatic conditions.

"I've never seen that before. I mean I've seen dead fish floating in the water but not that much. That's a lot of fish. Probably a couple hundred. Close to a thousand. I mean that's a lot of dead fish floating," said Jeremy Guidry who was driving along the Basin Bridge.

Biologist Brac Salyers told News 2 the water is dropping seven to eight inches everyday, but LDWF officials say the level will begin to stabilize as early as next week. As far as the oxygen levels in the basin, they will increase as temperatures begin to decrease with the onset of fall.