Statement_of_Work_(SOW)_Updated_0001.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA)

FISHERIES

NORTHEAST FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER (NEFSC)

ACOUSTIC RECORDER VESSEL CHARTER

1.0 OVERVIEW

Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Acts, the Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Fisheries is required to assess the status of marine mammal populations found in U.S. waters. The Passive Acoustics Branch (PAB), of the Protected Species Division (PSD) at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) carries out the responsibilities of NOAA Fisheries in the northeast region with the PSD responsible for regular abundance estimates of protected species. NOAA Fisheries is also charged with reducing the amount of anthropogenic mortality of protected species occurring within the US

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2.0 BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE

The Passive Acoustics Branch has an active research program investigating how marine animals use sound, the importance thereof and the impacts on human- made noise on protected and/or endangered marine mammals and other acoustically-sensitive marine animals (e.g., fishes, sharks and sea turtles). This project is part of the long-term monitoring of movements and distribution of cetaceans, focused on understanding current and expected changes in their occurrence throughout biologically important areas.

3.0 SCOPE OF WORK

The PAB is seeking charter vessel services for several acoustic recorder servicing (retrieval and redeployment) trips in multiple separate locations throughout Northeast waters, typically spanning from the Mid-Atlantic through Gulf of Maine waters. Primary departure port is in Woods Hole, MA. The Contractor shall provide vessels that meet all contract requirements and are available to support the required services including bottom mounted mooring turnarounds, deep-sea mooring turnaround, and drifting buoy deployments and retrievals. Acoustic recorders require servicing by PAB staff (retrieval and redeployment) in multiple locations throughout the Northeast waters, including but not limited to the Gulf of Maine, Southern New England.

Each type of work may occur in separate or combined locations, depending on mission requirements, and may be accomplished through separate or combined trips: 1) every 5 months for bottom mounted recorders; 2) every 2 years for deep-sea moorings; and 3) a separate deployment and retrieval trip, within one month of each other, up to 2 times per year. Each trip typically ranges from 2 to 8 consecutive days at sea. The number of trips and total sea days will vary based on mission requirements and may be accomplished through separate or combined trips. The base period includes a minimum number of sea days, with additional sea days that may be exercised as options.

Trips are not required to occur consecutively.

4.0 TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

4.1 Project description: The Contractor shall provide one or more qualified vessels (see Cruise Operations and Vessel Requirements) to provide acoustic recorder servicing (retrieval and redeployment) trips, in multiple locations, multiple times a year. There are three types of acoustic equipment deployment and retrieval trips: 1) bottom mounted mooring servicing; 2) deep-sea mooring servicing; and 3) drifting recorder deployment and retrieval.

1) Bottom-mounted recorder turnaround trips:

The bottom mounted recorder trips currently occur in the western North Atlantic (including but not limited to the Gulf of Maine and southern New England). Each area typically requires servicing approximately every 5 months. One (1) trip is anticipated in Winter 2027 and one (1) trip is anticipated in Summer 2027.

(Specific locations are listed in Identified Coordinates, Tables 1 and 2). Each trip will typically consist of up to 3 full sea days in the Gulf of Maine and up to 3 full sea days in the southern New England area. A total of 12 sea days are expected per period of performance for bottom mounted recorder turnarounds. The work for the Gulf of Maine and the southern New England areas may occur during the same trip and are not required to occur consecutively. Additional field activities, such as eDNA water sampling collection, may occur during these trips.

2) Deep-sea mooring turnaround trips:

The deep-sea mooring trip occurs off the New England Sea Mounts, once every 2 years. This trip is anticipated in Summer 2028. Up to 3 sea days is expected during periods of performance when this trip is required. The work for the deep-sea mooring can be combined with other acoustic trips described in this SOW, if feasible. The location for this mooring is 39°54.8186'N, 66°57.6976'W (Table 3).

3) Drifting recorder trips:

The drifting recorder trips will occur across the continental shelf and in deeper, off-shelf waters off the Northeast U.S. coast.

This project requires two separate trips: one for deployment and one for retrieval of drifting acoustic buoy recorders, occurring up to 2 times per year, typically consisting of one deployment and retrieval trip in the spring, and one set of trips in the fall. The retrieval trip shall occur following the deployment trip, within one month of when the recorders are deployed. An example of a deployment and retrieval coordinates and dates is provided in Table 4). Drifting buoy deployment and retrieval activities may be performed as separate trips or combined into one longer operational trip (up to 14 consecutive days), depending on mission needs, buoy drift conditions, weather, and vessel availability. A total of up to 24 28 sea days is expected per period of performance for drifting recorder trips.

The number of days per deployment or retrieval trip can vary depending on where the buoys are deployed and drift to. Retrieval is dependent on buoy drift patterns, weather, and duration of the GPS tracking life on the recorder. Additional field activities may be conducted between deploying and retrieving gear, which can include towed arrays, visual surveys, and deployment of additional gear.

Weather conditions, discussions between the science crew and contractor, in addition to science crew availability will determine whether the servicing happens in single trips or several trips. Weather, sea state, and operating conditions will be jointly evaluated by the NOAA scientific staff and vessel captain, with the vessel captain retaining final authority for safe vessel operations. Adjustments to trip schedules and sea days due to unforeseen operational delays, public health restrictions, or safety-related concerns may occur by mutual agreement and will be communicated between the contractor vessel and NEFSC prior to implementation.

The Government anticipates requiring the vessel to be available for staging prior to the start of each trip and destaging at the conclusion of each trip. The contractor shall make the vessel available prior to the start of each trip, at a mutually agreeable port, to NEFSC scientific staff, for staging, to inspect the vessel, potentially train the crew for the deployments & retrievals, and to meet with the Master and owners. Any software, gear, and/or equipment installed on the vessel by the NEFSC/PSB for the purpose of conducting the research trip will be removed (destaged) at the end of the trip. If needed, mobilization to/ from the contractor vessel’s homeport to the Woods Hole, MA Science Center’s docking area, will occur prior to the start of each trip and at the completion of each trip.

If trip work is completed in less than the allocated time, the vessel will be reimbursed for only those days actually at sea (sea days). A sea day is defined as the vessel being at sea away from its planned departure port, transiting to or from planned areas of operation, conducting scientific operations (steaming to each location to provide acoustic recorder servicing - retrieval and redeployment) or laying to, due to inclement weather or scientific equipment failures. Counting of sea days will be suspended if scientific operations are suspended due to vessel equipment failure or the inability of the vessel and/or crew to carry out operations.

For multi-day trips, sea days will be counted on a 24-hour basis from the time of departure until the last day of the trip.

For single day trips, a sea day will be counted as a full day.

Fuel

a. The vessel's fuel tank(s) shall be topped-off at the beginning and end of each trip. The The government shall reimburse the contractor vessel for the cost of fuel used during a trip, in addition to the daily sea day rate. The Government will reimburse the Contractor only for the actual price paid for fuel. Reimbursement will be provided upon receipt of a copy of the paid invoice attached to a Contractor’s invoice for those services.

Payment may only be made to the Contractor of the vessel trip. A Government Representative and a vessel crew member shall, together, verify the volume of fuel on board at the beginning of the charter and the end of the charter, in order to ensure the Government pays for no more or less fuel than the performance of the charter requires.

b. When the Contractor expects total funding expended to reach 85 percent of the total funds available for fuel, the Contractor shall notify the COR and Contracting Officer within one (1) business day. The notice shall state the estimated amount of additional funds required to continue performance for the period specified in the Schedule.

The Contractor shall not exceed or incur costs that exceed the amount of funding available for fuel. The Government is not obligated to reimburse the Contractor for fuel in excess of the funded amount stated in the schedule.

Staging/destaging is defined as the contractor vessel being made available for the installation and removal of scientific equipment, fishing gear and personal gear onto or off of the vessel. During a staging/destaging day the contractor vessel shall be moored at a pre-agreed docking facility with adequate access for trucks and cranes and with vessel crew available, upon prior arrangement, to assist the staging/de-staging operations and dockside testing of systems and equipment. Staging/destaging is anticipated to take between 2 to 4 hours and to occur directly before leaving/returning to the dock for the trip: in this case this would be an at-sea day. If same day staging and departure are unavailable, the vessel shall be accessible the day before the trip and the staging option would be exercised.

A mobilization day is defined as, up to a full day, for the contractor vessel to steam from (or to) their homeport location to the Woods Hole, MA dock. If mobilization is required, the option would be exercised.

A dock day is defined as an unplanned delay where the vessel is unable to leave the dock, or has to return to the dock during the trip, due to unforeseen weather conditions or public health related issues. This option will be exercised only if the vessel cannot return to the home port.

The contracted vessel shall be prepared with the necessary fuel, food (see Provisions) and crew (see Cruise Operations) to conduct the retrieval and redeployment. NEFSC/PSD will provide between three to six scientific staff.

The contracted vessel shall be placed off-hire in the event of loss of time due to any contractor and vessel-related operational deficiencies. Any underway days lost due to excusable delays may be added to the trip period of performance per contract through contract modification, as determined by the Contracting Officer.

The acoustic recorder locations that will be serviced (retrieved and redeployed) by PAB staff are the following with possible changes in positions and additional recorders being added over the years, depending on research requirements (see identified Coordinates Table 1-4). There is one site in the Gulf of Maine (GOM_USTR11; Table

1) that is in Canadian waters; NOAA will be responsible to obtain the Canadian fishing vessel license required to enter Canadian waters. The locations for drifting recorder trips are provided as examples (Table 4): exact deployment locations are determined for each trip prior to departure, and retrieval positions are based on buoy drift patterns.

Identified Coordinates (Tables 1-4)

1) Bottom mounted recorder:

Table 1. Example positions and depth of the southeastern Gulf of Maine moorings that will be recovered and redeployed. Note * Sites (GOM_USTR11) is in Canadian waters. Exact locations and number of recorders are subject to change.

Site Latitude

Dec degrees

Longitude

Dec degrees

Latitude

Deg Dec Min

Longitude

Deg Dec Min

Depth (m)

GOM_USTR06 42.29 -67.32 42° 17.441' N 67° 18.925' W 283

GOM_USTR09 41.93 -68.18 41° 55.970' N 68° 10.602' W 198

GOM_USTR11* 42.51 -67.21 42° 30.703'N 67° 12.425' W 332

GOM_USTR13 42.09 -67.16 42° 05.284' N 67° 09.574' W 51

*In Canadian waters

Table 2. Example positions and depth of the southern New England moorings that will be recovered and redeployed. Exact locations and number of recorders are subject to change.

Site Latitude

Dec degrees

Longitude

Dec degrees

Longitude

Deg Dec Min

Latitude

Deg Dec Min

Depth (m)

NS02 40.72 -70.02 40° 43.482'N 70° 00.918'W 38

NS04 41.02 -69.90 41° 01.420'N 69° 53.795'W 27

NS05 40.63 -69.76 40° 37.748'N 69° 45.912'W 55

NS06 40.61 -70.26 40° 36.615'N 70° 15.546'W 53

NS08 41.03 -70.67 41° 01.627'N 70° 40.277'W 44

NS12 40.85 -70.69 40° 50.822'N 70° 41.279'W 55

NS13 40.86 -70.93 40° 51.587'N 70° 55.476'W 48

COX01 41.14 -71.10 41° 08.478'N 71° 06.149'W 31

COX02

PWN02

41.04 -71.22 41° 02.446' N 71° 13.146' W 38

COX03 41.04 -70.91 41° 02.4590' N 70° 54.5470' W 31

2) Deep Sea Mooring

Table 3. Positions and depth of the deep-sea mooring. Exact locations and number of recorders are subject to change.

Site Latitude

Dec degrees

Longitude

Dec degrees

Longitude

Deg Dec Min

Latitude

Deg Dec Min

Depth (m)

NRS08 39.91 -66.96 39° 54.8186'N 66°

57.6976'W

3,181

3) Drifting Recorders

Table 4. Positions for deployment and final retrieval locations for an example drifting recorder trip, each buoy typically drifting for approximately 14-18 days between deployment and retrieval. Exact locations, number of recorders, and duration between deployment and retrieval may vary for each drifting recorder and trip. Figure 1a shows grid of study area for potential deployment locations, and Figure 1b shows an example of a buoys’ path between deployment and retrieval (Figure 1).

Buoy # Deployment Latitude

Deg Dec Min

Deployment Longitude

Deg Dec Min

Retrieval Longitude

Deg Dec Min

Retrieval Latitude

Deg Dec Min

DRIFT001 39° 8.071' N 070° 41.506' W 39° 49.194' N 070° 19.62' W

DRIFT002 39° 8.071' N 069° 41.506' W 39° 10.584' N 070° 43.23' W

DRIFT003 39° 8.071' N 068° 41.506' W 38° 46.914' N 070° 38.892' W

DRIFT004 39° 8.071' N 067° 41.506' W 37° 47.616' N 068° 41.778' W

DRIFT005 39° 38.071' N 070° 11.506' W 39° 17.472' N 071° 40.464' W

DRIFT006 39° 38.071' N 069° 11.506' W 38° 33.264' N 071° 03.912' W

DRIFT007 39° 38.071' N 068° 11.506' W 38° 34.428' N 069° 50.382' W

DRIFT008 39° 38.071' N 067° 11.506' W 39° 04.968' N 068° 58.68' W

DRIFT009 40° 8.071' N 067° 41.506' W 39° 23.406' N 069° 18.864' W

DRIFT010 40° 8.071' N 066° 41.506' W 38° 36.696' N 067° 09.282' W

Figure 1a: Total study area with potential deployment locations (each grid cell with shape) for drifting buoys

Figure 2b: Map of continental shelf where previous drifting buoys were deployed. Black lines show buoys’ travel path from deployment to retrieval (all lasting 14- 18 days each).

4.2 Cruise Operations

The contracted vessels must have two to three crew, covering the roles of Master, mate, engineer and chief steward, to operate the vessel and to support scientific operations. The Master and at least one other member of the vessel’s crew must be fluent in English. While at sea, the Master is responsible for the operation of the vessel to ensure the safety of the scientific staff and all crew members. The vessel’s crew is responsible for the safe operation of the vessel and visiting all the designated retrieval and redeployment locations. Any damage to the vessel and its gear which occurs during the trip(s) is the responsibility of the contractor.

Trips will occur during specified time windows for each type of work (Winter and Summer 2027 for the bottom mounted recorder trips for the base year, see options and option years below for timing of the other types of trips and subsequent years). For the bottom mounted recorder servicing, the work for any western North Atlantic region (including but not limited to the Gulf of Maine and the southern New England areas) may occur in the same trip, but are not required to occur consecutively, depending on areas and need. The contracted vessel and PAB will coordinate leading up to the field work time window to finalize dates. Weather conditions, coordinated between the science crew and contractor, in addition to science crew availability will determine whether the servicing occurs as a single or multiple trips. Conducting the research is defined as traveling to the identified coordinates where research gear will be retrieved and deployed (see Tables 1-4). The contracted vessel must have the endurance to travel to and visit the sites. For all sites, the vessel may spend 1-2 hours per site. In the case of the deep-sea mooring (3), deployment and recovery may take up to six hours at the one site.

The contracted vessel will have an open flybridge which is safely accessible to science crew. At least one science crew may be on the fly bridge to survey for marine mammals at any time during the day. Prior to the commencement of the trip, if needed, the vessel crew will install one pair of ‘big eye’ binocular stands on the fly bridge.

For the bottom-mounted recorders at the Gulf of Maine sites (1), the contracted vessel will be either outfitted with an a-frame, davit, crane, or similar which is capable of lifting and releasing a 200 lb anchor, or an open stern deck or rail where mooring system (float, line, instrumentation) may be trailed behind the vessel en route to the deployment station, and allowing the anchor to be pushed off the deck upon arrival to station. The components of the Gulf of Maine moorings in air weigh approximately 200 pounds with the anchor. A similar setup is desirable for the southern New England sites (1), however the anchors are slightly lighter and weigh in the air approximately 100-150 pounds. A smaller vessel is appropriate for this trip and can be day trips if the home port is close enough to pick up the science crew and equipment and return in a single day.

For the deep-sea mooring (2), a winch or A-frame will be required to safely deploy and recover the recording unit, float, and cable. The components of the NRS mooring in air weigh approximately 550 and 900 lbs. lifted separately.

The vessel shall be maneuvered to allow safe access for crew to retrieve and secure the unit. The vessel shall be able to accommodate the NRS recording unit, which includes over 2600m of vectran cable and weighs approximately 1500 lbs.

The drifting buoys (3) have similar requirements to the Southern New England sites of the bottom mounted recorders (1), however these units can be deployed and retrieved by hand. For the 90m of line between instrumentation, block or capstan may be used for retrieval with a PAB-supplied pot hauler. These units are up to 150m in length, with a 10’ high-flyer and 14” surface float on one end, and a 30lb anchor on the other. These buoys have GPS trackers, and locations are monitored after deployment. The vessel shall be available for immediate recovery trips as operationally necessary, considering, if a the buoy’s location, weather, and vessel safety, if a buoy’s location requires immediate attention (i.e. buoy drifts towards the Gulf Stream and risk being lost if not retrieved promptly)- this can be a smaller vessel than required for full deployment trips, if only a day trip to recover a way-ward buoy is necessary. For towed array work during these trips, the vessel shall be capable of towing 200m of dyneema line, which can be deployed and retrieved by a winch, pot hauler, or by hand. Once the towed array is deployed, the vessel shall operate between 6-10 knots (not to exceed 10 knots) while towing the array.

4.3 Recovery & Redeployment Considerations

1) Bottom mounted recorder:

For the bottom mounted recorder Gulf of Maine sites (Table 1), the mooring system to be deployed consists of a 150 lb I-beam anchor, stainless steel wire rope to Innovasea VR2AR acoustic release, spectra line to strong-back housing the PAM recorder (SoundTrap 600), spectra line to 14” trawl float. The mooring length is ~ 10 meters from anchor to float (see Figure 2).

For the southern New England sites (Table 2), the mooring system to be deployed consists of a 125 lb I-beam anchor, float rope to Innovasea VR2AR acoustic releases, float rope with two PAM recorders (SoundTrap 600 and FPOD acoustic recorders) to an 11” trawl float. The mooring length is ~13 meters from anchor to float (see Figure 3). When possible, the Southern New England moorings have a leave-no-trace ARC system that attaches the acoustic release to the I-beam anchor with spooled rope to retrieve the entire mooring when retrieved.

Each station shall need to be recovered and then redeployed. All recovery and redeployment operations shall occur during daylight hours. For sites that only require a deployment (no retrieval of existing gear necessary), nighttime deployment is possible. Prior to arriving at the station, the scientific personnel will prepare the instrumentation for the recovery and redeployment. The contractor shall provide at least 45 minutes notice prior to arrival at the station.

The recovery/redeployment procedure is as follows: Arrive at GPS location, try to maintain on site while hydrophone is lowered into the water to communicate with the acoustic release.

Ensure the echosounder is turned off during this process, if possible. Once a communication signal is locked on, after 2-3 minutes the acoustic release will be triggered. Afterwards the mooring will float to the surface, and crew can spot it from the deck (large orange float). The mooring will be pulled on board with a boat hook and science crew. For moorings with ARC retrievable anchor systems: once the ARC reaches the water's surface, it is picked up with a boat hook. Once on deck, the ARC's loose canister line can be connected to a boom winch's tag line; the line and attached weight are then subsequently pulled up using that boom winch. A new acoustic recorder mooring will be deployed in the same GPS location as the instrument just recovered. However, the contractor shall move the vessel to a new location if an instrument has been lost or other considerations occur as determined by the science crew. The recovered mooring will then be refurbished and cleaned on deck. The entire process is estimated to take up to 1 hour.

NEFSC can provide a quick-release system for lifting and deploying the anchor if needed. The contractor shall provide a crane operator and at least one deck hand for deployment.

Figure 2. Mooring diagram for SoundTrap 600s for Gulf of Maine Sites

Figure 3. Mooring diagram for southern New England sites with the retrievable anchor system (ARC).

2) Deep-Sea Mooring

In the case of the deep-sea mooring (see Figure 4) site, 2600m of cable shall have to be recovered and spooled properly for redeployment at a subsequent site. Recovery requirements are as follows: The first stage of recovery is to bring the float aboard. A line of suitable strength shall be used to lift 5510 lbs (2500kg) (order of magnitude safety margin - the heaviest piece of the mooring during recovery is the float at 550 lbs, or 250 kg) will be required.

The line should be passed through a block capable of accepting a 5/8” shackle or larger attached to the a-frame.

The float at the top of the mooring (1m syntactic foam sphere) has a 10m floating line spliced into a loop attached to the top of the float. The loop is used to attach a lifting line to, either by maneuvering the ship close enough to throw a grappling hook, or by using a small boat to take a lifting line out to the float and manually attach it. The float should be lifted to the A-frame and the A-frame brought inboard. The float can then be lowered and secured on deck. The lifting line should be transferred to the 40m ¾” nylon line attached to the bottom of the float and the 40m piece should be recovered directly onto the empty spool. The spool shall be positioned to receive the mooring line after it has gone around the capstan and is no longer under tension. The hydrophone is located at the bottom of the 40m line. When the phone is recovered, it can be secured to the deck. The lifting line should then be transferred from the top of the ¾” nylon line to the paralink on the bottom of the hydrophone. Recover the 2500 to 3300m long, 3/8” diameter yalex, mooring line directly onto the empty spools provided for this purpose. 1 to 2 empty spools will be required per mooring. At the bottom of the final section of yalex line is the acoustic release.

Once that is brought aboard, it can be disconnected and all recovered mooring equipment secured. Recovery is expected to take several hours, and this unit will be prepared for redeployment at the site.

The redeployment of the deep-sea buoy may take 90 -120 minutes. Because of the length of line, many positional calculations shall be taken into consideration. Scientists on board will work with the captain to determine appropriate deployment strategy. The mooring will be redeployed in the reverse order from which it was recovered.

Recovery and deployment of this site shall occur during daylight hours.

Figure 4: Diagram of the deep-sea mooring (“NRS08”).

3) Drifting Buoy

For the drifting buoys, the “DASBR” is a drifting unit totaling 100-150 m in length (Fig. 5). It has an orange hi-flyer and surface buoy at the surface with reflective tape for ease of spotting, and a strobe light that is active at night, making nighttime recoveries possible. A GPS tracker is mounted at the top to monitor its position, which transmits every 10 min with 2-3 m accuracy. The hydrophones are very sensitive, so care should be taken to not bang or drop them.

Each station shall need to be deployed. Recovery of these units shall occur in a subsequent trip, within 30 days of deployment. Prior to arriving at the station, the scientific personnel will prepare the instrumentation for the deployment by laying out instrumentation on deck. The contractor shall provide at least 60 minutes notice prior to arrival at the station. The deployment procedure is as follows: As the vessel approaches the deployment site, bring the ship to 1-2 knot speed and notify PAB staff when the vessel is at desired 1-2 knots. Once at the site, try to have the wind at the vessel beam to help blow the float away from the hi-flyer when lowered into the water. Once the ship is at dead slow, a crew member will lower the hi-flyer, and then the surface float into the water. Lower the hi-flyer downwind of the surface float so the line does not tangle. Pay out line only as fast as the vessel moves away from the buoy, avoiding loose lines so as not to get sucked into propellers. A PAB scientist will notify hands on deck when instrumentation is coming up. Once all of the line is paid out, the PAB and crew should work together to lower DASBR parts with all of the hydrophone instrumentation. A second scientist should be holding onto the anchor and lower it over the side once all instrumentation is in the water and it is safe to do so. Once the unit is successfully deployed, science crew will check GPS feed to ensure the unit is transmitting properly.

Retrieval of the buoys is as follows. As the ship approaches the last known GPS location, use binoculars and ships spotlight (for nighttime retrievals) to aid in spotting and locating the hi-flyer (hi-flyer has strobe that will be activated in the case for nighttime retrievals). The best retrieval location may be from a mid-ship station on the port side, but extreme care is needed to ensure that the vessel does not drift over the top of the line. If possible, approaching slowly from an upwind direction (going downwind) is best. Use a boat or grappling hook to snag the floating line between the hi-flyer and orange floats. Turn the vessel broadside to the wind with the buoy on the upwind side of the vessel, so that you will drift away from the buoy. If rough weather prevents turning broadside safely, the alternative is to approach in an upwind direction and to maintain station next to the buoy as it is retrieved. This requires the vessel operator to avoid the wind catching the bow and pushing the ship over the top of the line being retrieved.

Once floating line is grappled, the hi-flyer, line and surface float are brought onto deck. The hi-flyer is detached from the surface float and stored safely to the side for the duration of the retrieval. The remainder of line is pulled in next.

If using a block or capstan, wait for the drogue to come up before wrapping it onto the device. The device can be used with a pot hauler for 90 m before the mid-water float arrives, then the retrieval will switch to manually lifting the rest of the equipment. Flake all 90 m into a fish basket as it is retrieved. Lift the hydrophones gently over the rail and onto the deck. Avoid bumping hydrophone elements against the ship in the process. Lastly, the anchor is retrieved and brought onto deck. The recovered equipment shall then be cleaned, stored in fish baskets, and left on the deck to dry.

Figure 5: Diagram of drifting buoy (DASBR)

The contractor shall provide at least one crew member for assistance to safely deploy and retrieve all types of gear described.

A Scientific Research Permit from the NOAA Fisheries Northeast Regional Administrator will be obtained by the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and maintained onboard the vessel for the duration of the survey. No Days-At-Sea (DAS) or catch allocation will be charged to the vessel under this survey activity; the vessel will be considered a NOAA research vessel under this contract. One of the sites (GOM_USTR_11, see Table 1), is located in Canadian waters; NOAA will be responsible for obtaining the Canadian fishing vessel Letter of Authorization (LOA) required to enter Canadian waters. The vessel captain and chief scientist are responsible for following all terms and conditions of the LOA.

The contracted vessel shall utilize and maintain nautical charts, deck log and/or computer software(s) that provide a record of the vessel’s location, operations, operating conditions and any vessel-related significant events. These charts, logs and software output(s) shall be made available upon request of the Chief Scientist. The Master shall provide access to scientific personnel, GPS location data, and other available operations data needed to log the locations of each of the deployment sites.

Nothing herein contained shall be construed as creating demise of the vessel to the Government. The Contractor under this contract shall retain complete and exclusive possession and operation of the vessel and its navigation.

4.4 Provisions

Three meals per day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) shall be prepared by the vessel chief steward for the scientists.

Protein (meat or vegan) shall be included at each lunch and dinner along with two vegetables and dessert or fruit.

Special diets such as vegetarians, vegans, gluten free, and kosher shall be accommodated. Dietary needs for crew will be discussed prior to the cruises. Milk, coffee, tea, water, cold juice and soft drinks shall be available at all times.

Meals shall be prepared during each day of vessel operation under this contract.

5.0 Vessel Requirements/ Qualifications

5.1 Minimum Vessel Specifications

1) There are two separate needs. The first vessel needs to be capable of safe operation in the southern Gulf of Maine, north of Georges Bank, Franklin Basin, and George’s Basin across the Canadian border, and across Georges Bank on the continental shelf in waters. The other vessel needs to be capable of safe operation in waters closer to shore throughout the southern New England area, from Nantucket shoals to Cox Ledge areas. The same vessel may be used for both locations, if appropriate.

2) The contracted vessel shall have experience collecting scientific data and/or a track record of prior work with passive acoustic recording unit deployment and/or retrieval is desirable.

3) The vessel shall have sufficient deck space to put all mooring gear and instrumentation, and sufficient dry workspace for electronic equipment setup, programming and monitoring..

4) Clean, sanitary, and sufficiently ventilated berths with mattresses for contracted vessel crew and 2-6 scientists.

Bunk areas shall contain at least one drawer or closet per occupant for storage of clothing and personal gear.

5) A minimum of one head, one shower and sink with hot water that is available to the scientific crew.

5) The vessel shall have sufficient potable water and fuel capacity for the duration of the trip and any unexpected emergencies.

6) The vessel shall have adequate galley facilities for concurrent seating of two (2) scientists

5.2 Electronic and Communication Equipment Requirements

1) Radios:

a. VHF (minimum 2)

b. Single side-band

c. Offshore communication phone (satellite, cellular, or other)

2) Radar (minimum 2 units with minimum range 40 nm)

3) Global Positioning System (GPS) (minimum 2 units)

4) Plotters with capability of plotting input from GPS desirable

5) Depth sounder

6) Electrical outlets (minimum 2) accessible to science crew for field equipment needs

7) Email capability desirable

8) Weather FAX machine and printer desirable but not required

6.0 POST-AWARD AND POST-TRIP MEETINGS

4.1 Upon award of contract and prior to the start of the trip, a post-award meeting will be held by telephone/video conference to discuss issues relating to the trip. The contractor vessel manager and all contractor vessel Captains participating in the trip are required to attend the meeting. The date and time of the meeting will be scheduled by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or Technical POC following award of the contract at a time mutually agreeable between the Government and the contractor.

4.2 Following completion of each trip, a post-trip debriefing meeting will be held via telephone/video conference. The purpose of the debriefing is to provide the contractor vessel operator an evaluation of the performance of the vessel and crew during the trip. At a minimum, the contractor vessel manager is required to attend the debriefing. The date and time of the meeting will be scheduled by the COR or Technical POC upon completion of the trip at a time mutually agreeable between the Government and the vessel contractor.

7.0 ATTACHMENTS

Attachment No. 1 - Vessel Characteristics Attachment No. 2 - Master/Crew Work Experience Attachment No. 3 - Vessel's Commercial Fishing History (if applicable) Attachment No. 4 - Past Performance Questionnaire Attachment No. 5 - Code of Conduct Attachment No. 6 - Referenced US Government electronic Code of Federal Regulations

-End Statement of Work-