The massive fish kill death toll on the pamlico river has now risen to almost 4 million.

Thursday, environmentalist tested the river and collected water samples to determine the cause of the fish kill. Though they are not certain, they say the oppressive heat over the past week, could have sucked out the oxygen in the water and suffocated the estimated 3.9 million menhaden fish.

Environmentalist plan to keep an eye on the situation and collect as much data as possible to clearly determine the cause of the fish kill.

ORGINAL STORY:
The Pamlico Tar River Foundation says new figures from the state show 3-million fish died in the fish kill on the Pamlico River Wednesday.

The PTRF Riverkeeper and the North Carolina River Response Team are testing water samples to determine the cause of the kill.

The fish kill was discovered near Wichard's Beach and stretches over three miles east along the Pamlico River. Officials say the fish kill mainly consists of Menhaden and some Croaker.

PTRF Riverkeeper Heather Jacobs says the oxygen levels were low Wednesday morning, but returned to normal in the afternoon. She says human error could have caused the fish kill. Jacobs says, "And then there's the human factor as in the fertilizer and our wastewater that provides specialized nitrogen into the river system, it can exacerbate the problem that we see today."

Jacobs says the fish will eventually sink to the bottom of the river. She says people should stay out of the water for at least 48 hours.