Fishermen Drag Live Shark Onto Beach Filled With Spring Breakers

wptv.comA fisherman swabs the mouth of a blacktip shark. Tens of thousands of sharks have recently been spotted near the shores of South Florida's beaches as part of their annual migration north.

Most of the sharks are blacktip and spinner sharks, which are not considered dangerous to humans.

Blacktips are responsible for about 16 percent of unprovoked attacks in Florida and spinners have been responsible for 13 unprovoked attacks worldwide, none that resulted in fatalities, according to the International Shark Attack Profile.

But a shark is still a shark — and they can bite.

Many beaches are closed for swimming as a precaution.

Fishermen in Palm Beach, however, are taking advantage of this opportunity to catch sharks for science purposes, wptv.com reports.

The migration coincides with spring break, when a large number of college students and other visitors head to the beaches to party and relax. The fishermen drew huge crowds as they dragged one shark onto shore.

The yearly migration generally happens before peak beach season, but started and ended later this year.

There's no law that prohibits fishermen from being on the beach, but it still puts beach-goers at unnecessary risk of being bit.

The sharks are being caught for research. Once a shark is reeled in, the inside of its mouth is swabbed for bacteria that will be used to develop medicine for shark bites, according to wptv.com. The sharks are then released back into the water.

Watch the news clip below: