Florida sharks force officials to close several beaches in the southern part of the state, leaving vacationers stuck on shore.

Images of the Florida sharks migrating near the beaches of South Florida look like something out of a "Jaws" movie.

Several beaches in South Florida have been closed off to swimmers because of the thousands of sharks spotted swimming so close to the shore.

Upwards of 15,000 ferocious fish, mostly blacktip (Carcharhinus limbatus) and spinner (Carcharhinus brevipinna) sharks, are swarming around the beaches of West Palm Beach County on their annual migration north.

Both species are renowned for leaping out of the water and "spinning" in the air as they hunt for prey. Smaller fish make up most of their diet.

The Florida sharks are migrating using the currents of the Atlantic Ocean to guide after spending the cold winter months in the warmer waters to the south.

Many of the Florida sharks spotted have been in the shallow waters near the beach. The massive herd is, on average, about 200 yards away from shore with some reported withing 30 feet of the beach.

This is also an unusally late migration season for the sharks, who are often in the Florida waters during the months of January and February.

And while swimmers are currently being kept out of the water while the Florida sharks migrate, one expert says we are actually much closer to the marine predators than we would like to think.

Florida Atlantic University shark researcher Steve Kajiura reported that during the migration season, a shark is usually only about 60 feet away from swimmers.

"There are thousands of sharks right there, and yet this year, there have been no bites in Palm Beach County waters," he said. "Our data has shown that the bulk of the migration occurs in January and February, but it may be a little behind this year due to the warmer weather and water temperatures."

Researchers also say that about 20% of uninitiated attacks on swimmers in Florida come from spinner sharks.

And one of the most likely areas for humans to be bitten by sharks, according to the Broward Palm Beach New Times, is Palm Beach County. Swimmers, therefore, should take extra precaution and follow the swimming restrictions set forth by local officials.

That said, experts agree that the odds of being bitten by one of the Florida sharks are still incredibly low, even during the peak migration season.