UK Cetacean Bycatch Observation Scheme – Assessment of Bycatch of Protected Species in UK Fisheries

Concepts

• bristol
• environmental services
• uk cetacean bycatch observation scheme
• annual bycatch estimates
• assessment of bycatch of protected species
• uk fisheries
• bycatch observations
• species
• total bycatch estimates
• results of observations

Location

United Kingdom:

Geochart for 1 buyers and 1 suppliers

DEFRA Network Etendering Portal

St Andrews University

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Description

The contract provides estimates of the accidental catches in UK fisheries. This is certain key groups of protected species, which by monitoring a selected sample of fishing operations and by analysis of fleet behaviour, can provide an understanding of the conservation threat posed by fisheries to these groups. The project focuses mainly on marine mammals, birds and sharks. The main object of the contract is to generate annual bycatch estimates for the marine mammal species recorded and to provide at least summary indicators of the scale of seabird and shark bycatch in the fisheries observed. The project produces annual reports at the end of every April (every year) tabulating fishing effort by key fishery and by region. This summarises the bycatch observations and associated estimates of protected species in each yearly bycatch.

Total Quantity or Scope

The Contractor will: undertake monitoring for 318 days on a range of fishing vessel types, the proportional composition of which will initially follow existing targets already established but which will be modified as appropriate in consultation with Defra and the PSG if and as changing policy objectives suggest refocusing observational effort in a different way. Sampling will continue to follow targets previously agreed to address requirements of Council Regulations 812/2004, 2019/1241 and Council Directive 92/43/EEC, but as UK has now left the EU, policy objectives are likely to change, so monitoring targets will be flexible such as monitoring can be refocused as deemed necessary over the life of the contract and beyond. Data collection will be added to customized statistical models developed to explore trends in bycatch rates for key species and in key fisheries, to look for geographical or other relevant patterns and to generate total bycatch estimates for common dolphins, harbour porpoises and grey seals in the annual reports for 2021 and 2022 and if data are sufficient for other protected species. Analysis uses General Additive Model (AGM) and ten of more fishery associated co-variates. Annual reports will be published by combining the results of observations during the year, combined as appropriate with data from previous years, with derived data on fishing effort from the iFish database and using GAM’s, which is the same approach which has been used annually since 2006.

Award Detail

CPV Codes

• 90700000 - Environmental services

Legal Justification

The contract started on the 14/04/2017 and ran for an initial term, ending on 30/06/2019. It was extended for three, further 12-month increments, ending on 30/06/2021. The Authority is now extending the contract for a further 10-month period (30/06/2021 – 30/04/2022) in order to run a procurement exercise, re-tendering this requirement and ensuring a new contract is in place prior to the end of the extension deadline date. Increasingly consumers and retailers are demanding that high standards of environmental protection apply in food production; this project aims to provide consumers and retailers with confidence that fisheries are not inadvertently compromising the conservation status of protected or vulnerable species, identifying fishery practices where mitigation measures are required to protect vulnerable species. All fisheries have a certain degree of unwanted and unintended catch (bycatch), some of which may involve protected or sensitive species whose population status might be compromised if bycatch rates are too high. Such species are typically not commercial and therefore cannot be landed. It is necessary therefore to monitor bycatch during actual fishing operations across a wide range of gears/fisheries to estimate bycatch rates, in order to examine the cumulative impact across fisheries and where necessary, identify specific fisheries and areas where measures to reduce accidental bycatch rates might be needed. Data is currently captured and recorded quarterly with an annual report being published every April. However, there have recently been changes in legislation and due to this we are now considering objectives and requirements that better fulfil policy needs, filling gaps in existing evidence and developing more effective policies as a result. We are looking to expand the monitoring programme to include a wider range of species (including seabirds and water birds), laying different monitoring processes to increase data collection. We also wish to review and consider the Joint Nature Conservation Committee’s (JNCC) recently released interim report, to ensure any additional factors are also captured within our specification. Future budget spend is unclear and therefor whether focus will stay predominantly within UK waters or also include international waters. Hence the extension will give the Authority time to take stock of its requirement, allowing sufficient time for a Tendering process via Find a Tender Service (FTS). The additional variation will be issued on the grounds of PCR 2015 Clause 72 (1) (e) which permits modifications without the need for a new procurement.

Other Information

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