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Like they do every year, there are thousands of blacktip sharks near the coast of Florida that are taking their trips down the Atlantic coast so that they can identify sources of food and warm water, reports Discovery.

But what worries the scientists is the delay in the migration.

"What I can say is they are running late this year, and I'm curious to see if we have the same numbers that we've had in other years," biological sciences professor Stephen Kajiura told The Sun Sentinel.

Kajiura pointed out that a few tagged sharks were seen travelling farther, even as a few travelled to the northern tip of New York recently. This is mainly due to shift in water temperatures. Some behavioral shifts have also been spotted in a few species of sea snakes in the Pacific.

Such changes are thought to be due to El Niño, which is influencing the earth's hemisphere as well as altered wind patterns. This change might impact sharks along with other animals, such as seals and sea lions.

However, the migration of the sharks just offshore is not an issue of worry, Kajiura said, according to The International Business Times.

"The general answer is no. For the most part, these sharks are really skittish, so when you get in the water, they're going to scatter and go away," he said.