The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) is seeking a charter vessel partner to participate in a cooperative research study to estimate trawl gear capture efficiency in order to improve assessments of commercially important fish populations in the Northwest Atlantic. A commercial fishing vessel is needed to research bottom trawl hauls for a ten (10) to fifteen (15) day period between the date of award and the Fall of 2015. It is anticipated that the sea days will be separated into shorter duration legs of up to eight (8) days each.
To allow for greater collaboration with industry, the study details will be developed in consultation with the Trawl Survey Advisory Panel, and the duration and timing of each research cruise will be determined in consultation with the contracted vessel. The study is anticipated to use standard NEFSC 4-seam, 3-bridle survey, or similarly sized bottom trawl gear, provided by NEFSC.
Research activities will take place in the continental waters of New England including Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine in water depths ranging from 5 to 200 fathoms. Bottom trawl hauls will be conducted in areas of relatively high abundance of commercially important species with the exact haul locations to be determined in consultation with the contracted vessel.
The complete Request for Quotes including instructions for submitting a quote is attached, and can also be found at the following link: https://www.fbo.gov/
The deadline for quotes is June 13. For questions about this project, please contact Michael Martin at michael.martin@noaa.gov or 508-495-2000.