Young Atlantic bluefin tunas may be braving a long journey across the Atlantic Ocean, and University of Massachusetts researchers are part of a three-year study to chart their travels.

In late July, researchers at UMass’ Large Pelagics Research Center (LPRC) received two of its tagged bluefin tunas participating in a three-year international research program. They were received within two weeks of each other.

The LPRC, which is located in Gloucester, has tagged bluefin tunas, ranging in ages 1 to 3, in an Atlantic Ocean-wide effort to better examine the migratory patterns of both the bluefins and other fishes.

Research scientist and LPRC Program Manager Emily Chandler, 34, said the two fish recovered by recreational fishermen were tagged on the coast of Spain a year ago.

“The fish were about 23 to 24 inches long when they were tagged,” Chandler said. “And then, when they were both captured – one off New Jersey and one off of Long Island in July – one was 31 inches long and the other was 32 inches long.”

According to Chandler, a human-constructed line, known as the “management line,” divides the Atlantic Ocean in half. This division creates an Eastern and a Western stock for bluefin fisheries in the Atlantic.

Government regulations from two separate bodies determine how much the bluefin population may be fished on the Western stock’s side. And, Chandler said, these regulations are strict.

She said her organization and fellow researchers believe science, including that of the fishes’ migratory patterns, helps support the regulations in place for the fishing of the bluefin tuna.

“If people continue to fish according to those quotas, the bluefin population will be fine,” Chandler said. She added that scientists do not consider the species to be on the brink of extinction.

Scientists will also look for chemical signatures, or the chemical composition of bluefin tunas’ ear bones to determine which side of the management line the fish have come from.

“It was really interesting to see more evidence of the really small fish crossing the Atlantic and just blowing by that management line,” Chandler said. “It’s been pretty exciting to get those two recaptures so far.”

Because the project relies on the cooperation of recreational fishermen who happen upon the tagged fish, the research can be slow work, Chandler said. She also said that past tagging programs have yielded zero recaptures.

The same tagging program began on the Eastern stock’s side a year before UMass’ scientists began tagging fish. Their goal was to tag 5,000 fish, Chandler said.

She also said retrieving tagged fish is much more difficult on the Western side of the Atlantic.

“Out here, we have to do it just using a rod and reel,” she said. “It’s harder to catch the fish.”

The Eastern stock sides “have things such as bay boats and can catch fish on a much larger scale than we can,” Chandler said.

According to Chandler, it is highly possible up to 50 percent of the United States’ recreational fishery may originate from the Eastern stock’s side.

“We obviously want any recapture that anyone sees reported to us, but we have no idea when we’ll get one next,” she said. “There are so many fish out there.”

The LPRC’s website details the types of tags attached to bluefin tunas and how those who recover them from the ocean should proceed to inform the LPRC based on the tag they’ve discovered. The LPRC’s site also breaks down the kind of information its scientists will want from those who catch their tagged fish.

Alyssa Creamer can be reached at [email protected].