GM-20-01b_MiniSOW_Final.docx

Mini-Statement of Work (SOW)

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK/DELIVERABLES

Assessing the Impact of Seismic Airguns on Commercially and Recreationally-Important Fish Amount to be funded in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020: $260,000 Total amount to be funded: $260,000

PURPOSE

The purpose of this award is to measure the behavioral response of commercially- and recreationally-important fish to seismic survey in the Gulf of Mexico. BOEM’s stakeholders, including the fishing and research community, is concerned about the impacts of seismic surveys on fish behavior. This study will benefit Gulf of Mexico commercial and recreational fishermen and the Gulf of Mexico States, local Governments, and local communities to which the fishery economy contributes. Natural resource and fishery managers in the Gulf of Mexico region will also benefit from the information produced by this study. This will allow BOEM to make the science-informed decisions, perform the analyses required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and generate the environmental documents (e.g., environmental impact statements [EISs], Environmental Assessments [EAs]) needed to fulfill its mission “to manage development of U.S. Outer Continental Shelf energy… in an environmentally and economically responsible way.”

BACKGROUND

BOEM is required to consider the impacts of its activities on all species and ecosystems on the OCS. Research into impacts to fish and fisheries from seismic surveys is limited, and conclusions are inconsistent. By necessity, our environmental analyses have relied on research with limited applicability. It is important to obtain more information for species that occur on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to better inform our analyses and management decisions. Observing the behavior of valuable reef fishes exposed to commercial seismic surveys would enable BOEM to better assess potential effects on biologically important behaviors. Such information would enable BOEM to meet statutory obligations to assess the level of impact and, as appropriate, propose mitigation measures to lessen or avoid such effects. The results of this study will address current gaps in our understanding of impacts to a commercially- and recreationally-important fish species.

For example, red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) is a common fish in the Gulf of Mexico and supports important commercial and recreational fisheries. It serves as an ideal species for this type of study because it has a swimbladder, tends to aggregate in large groups at natural and artificial reefs, and is ecologically and economically relevant. While sound production has not yet been demonstrated in red snapper, it is possible, considering that other snappers do produce sound (Fish and Mowbray 1952). If this is the case, it means that it may use acoustic signals to coordinate the timing of spawning (as in many other fish species), and such activities could be affected by the presence of airgun noise. Grouper would be another good candidate species group, as they too have a swimbladder and are known to be acoustically-active (Sanchez et al 2017). Red snapper is the preferred target species for this effort and grouper is an acceptable substitution if red snapper are unavailable.

STUDY OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study is to improve understanding of fishes’ response to commercial seismic surveys on the U.S. OCS. The major objective is to measure the potential changes in behavior of free-swimming adult fish when exposed to seismic airguns and record the duration of any behavioral change. Such behavioral changes may include changes in location, depth, and/or schooling, and the duration of any behavioral change. The results should be framed in terms of potential impacts to the fishery.

DESCRIPTION OF WORK

Using field-based methods, this study will address the following research questions:

1. Do fish leave the study area when a vessel with an active seismic survey (i.e., sound source is on) passes nearby? If so, how long does it take them to return to the area?

2. Do fish exhibit change(s) in behavior as the survey approaches / passes? If so, how long does it take them to return to natural (pre-seismic) behaviors?

To address these questions, the Awardee will work closely with the BOEM Project Team to create an experimental design and field plan. The Awardee and BOEM will coordinate the timing of this research with a planned commercial seismic survey in the Gulf of Mexico that will pass by a known snapper aggregation. The awardee will conduct the field work and analyze the data collected. The Awardee shall provide regular progress reports as well as a final report that describes the study’s approach, methodology, and results as well as provide an analysis and discussion of the data.

KEY TASKS

Task 1.1: Acoustic Monitoring and Fish Behavior Observations - Field Planning The details of the activities planned for this Task should be developed by the Awardee with input from both BOEM and the Awardee. BOEM will facilitate communications with industry and assist in assessing candidate surveys for the most appropriate study sites. Activity and scheduling details should first be discussed with the BOEM Project Team and then captured in writing by the Awardee. The draft Field Plan should include the experiment design for field operations, the equipment to be used, the methodology to be used, field schedule and personnel who will perform the work, and other aspects that may be decided upon at the post-award meeting.

The draft Field Plan should be submitted to BOEM for comment and input according to the schedule outlined in Section 11. When BOEM and the Awardee have confirmed the timing of a commercial survey, the draft Field Plan will be finalized with specific dates for the field work. A final Field Plan shall be submitted to BOEM at least 2 weeks before field operations begin, per Section 11.

Task 1.2: Acoustic Monitoring and Fish Behavior Observations – Data Collection This task is field-based and includes measuring the acoustic environment at the study site before, during, and after the passing of the survey. The study site will be chosen by the project team. The target fish species tend to aggregate at natural and artificial reefs on the OCS. Therefore, the study site(s) will be reef habitat that is expected to be surveyed or in the vicinity of a survey (within ~1–2 km) in the near future to measure impacts of a full-scale seismic array. The details of the acoustic monitoring field plan shall be developed with the project team. The next few paragraphs describe the BOEM vision of the acoustic monitoring approach in general terms.

At least one pressure-sensitive hydrophone should be deployed at the study site and should be configured to record up to at least 2 kHz (i.e., minimum sample rate at 4 kHz). The exact duty-cycle used for recording will depend upon hard drive space and the total duration of the recording period, but it is important to measure received levels at the site while the survey passes, which may require continuous sampling for a shorter time period. Care should be taken to ensure that the recorder will not become over saturated (i.e., “clip”) when the survey is closest. Data analysis from this hydrophone should aim to establish a baseline of the biological and anthropogenic sounds present in the area (e.g., typical frequency spectrum and amplitude at different time periods) prior to the survey and should examine potential changes after the passage of the survey. Data analysis should also include a description of diel trends in any potential vocalizations from fish at the site. Ideally it should be deployed at least 30 days before the passing of the acoustic survey and record data from that point until at least 30 days after the survey.

In addition to a standard PAM unit described above, at least one particle-motion sensor should be deployed at the site, also recording continuously during the passage of the survey. The primary aim of this instrument is to measure the magnitude and direction of received particle motion levels when the survey passes by, so it could be deployed for a shorter period of time (e.g., one week before and after the survey). Given the sensitivity of these instruments to water motion and/or vibrations of a vertical mooring, mounting this unit on a fixed anchor close to the seafloor would be most effective. If funds allow, additional units could be deployed at a different locations around the study site or farther up in the water column.

Information about the exact position of the source vessel, when time-synchronized with acoustic data from the recorders, should allow for simple calculations of transmission loss between the source and the receivers and a proper assessment of the directionality of particle motion from the airguns.

Observation of reef fish behavior will coincide with acoustic monitoring and includes tagging adult reef fish and observing their behavioral response to the acoustic survey. The field effort should be designed to answer the following research questions:

1. Do fish leave the study area when the seismic vessel approaches? If so, how long does it take them to return to the area (if ever)?

2. Do fish exhibit erratic swimming or changes in schooling behavior or depth as the survey passes overhead? If so, how long does it take them to return to natural (pre-seismic) behaviors?

3. Do fish exhibit the same behaviors when a similarly-sized “control” vessel approaches (i.e., a vessel that is not actively shooting seismic)?

The details of the experimental design should be developed with the project team. The next few paragraphs describe the BOEM vision of the experimental design in general terms.

Adult reef fish will be captured and tagged at least 60 days before the planned survey. Half of these animals will be tagged with traditional acoustic tags, which transmit their location when they pass within range of one of the receivers. The other half will be tagged with next-generation Vemco tags which transmit the fish’s history of acceleration and depth. This information will be critical for understanding fine-scale movements as the survey passes overhead. The species tagged must typical of resident species for the selected habitat (e.g., red snapper or grouper spp. would be an acceptable target species for GoM mid- and shelf-edge bank).

An array of Vemco acoustic receivers will be deployed around the research site. Depending on water depth, some of these may be mounted on the bottom while some may need to be mounted on sub-surface buoys mid-way through the water column to maximize potential fish detections. Vemco receivers can record data for approximately six months and thus will be deployed approximately three months before the survey is planned to take place.

The ability to distinguish between behavioral changes due airgun noise from ship disturbance is an important component to consider. The experimental design should consider how to control for this variable using methods such as:

· Passes of the same (ideally) or similar-sized vessel passing overhead without the use of airguns. This ‘control’ run should be completed several days to weeks before the airgun survey.

· Including additional control sites at a similar reef site that is not in the vicinity of the planned survey. The comparison of these tagged fish’s behavior to those fish exposed to the survey will elucidate further the potential impacts of airguns on adult fish.

· Comparison and use of any existing data that helps distinguish behavioral changed between airgun noise and ship disturbance.

Data analysis from the pre-survey period should demonstrate site fidelity (i.e., size of home range) of fish at the site, as well as an analysis of “normal” vertical movements. Approximately three months after the survey concludes, the Vemco receivers should be retrieved and movement data analyzed. Data analysis will focus on individual and population-level movements before, during, and after the passage of the survey.

SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY

Scientific integrity is vital to Department of the Interior (DOI) activities under which scientific research, data, summaries, syntheses, interpretations, presentations, and/or publications are developed and used. Failure to uphold the highest degree of scientific integrity will result not only in potentially flawed scientific results, interpretations, and applications, but will damage DOI’s reputation and ability to uphold the public’s trust. All work performed must comply with the DOI Scientific Integrity Policy posted to https://www.doi.gov/scientificintegrity, or its equivalent as provided by their organization or State law.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

As needed to fulfill requirements of a Cooperative Agreement, the Awardee will be responsible for written consideration of Data Management, a Logistics Plan, Safety Management, Permits/Interagency Coordination, and Local Involvement/Traditional Knowledge. The Awardee will also be required to comply with animal care protocols applicable to their home institution.

Section 508 Compliance Section 508 of the Rehabilitation act of 1973 (found at 29 U.S.C. 794d) requires access to and use of information by individuals with disabilities. A deliverable such as electronic reports (e.g., Adobe® Portable Document Format [PDF] files) to be placed on the web (either on the agency’s web server or the company’s), video footage, or other electronic data such as compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) to be distributed, are subject to Section 508 guidelines (https://www.section508.gov/). Simplified, this means that PDF files need to be formatted so that they are “readable” by assistive technology devices such as screen readers. Video footage must be closed captioned. CD-ROMs which contain hypertext markup language (HTML), PDF, or word processor files must be accessible.

Copies of Related Publications The manuscripts of scholarly publications and conference presentations for research funded by this agreement shall be provided for free and unlimited use by BOEM staff, which may take the form of a full-text, final, pre-publication copy of the related publication in cases that the publisher enforces pay for access or copyright restrictions.

Bibliographic Information for Related Publications The information on each related publication needed for formatting Council of Science Editors (CSE) bibliographies using the name-date system, including the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to access the publication on the publisher’s website, when applicable, shall be provided.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

This project is being proposed as a Cooperative Agreement between BOEM and an eligible institution within the Gulf Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network.

Performance Plan Awardee will perform the following:

1. At a minimum, all described tasks.

2. Adhere to the Project Management Plan specified in Section 9.1.

3. Inform the BOEM PO immediately of problems or delays as they begin to develop.

4. Ensure adequate data collection and analysis.

5. Ensure that data used are housed appropriately and available to the public.

6. Ensure Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) compliant metadata (https://www.fgdc.gov/resources/download-geospatial-standards), ensuring that future users will be able to understand where, when, and how the data were collected and processed.

7. Acknowledge Federal sponsorship in the draft and final reports by placing the following statement on the Disclaimer page of both reports:

“Study collaboration and funding were provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Environmental Studies Program, Washington, D.C. under Agreement Number XXXXX.”

The agreement number will be determined and designated at time of award.

BOEM will perform the following:

1. Work closely with the Awardee, to provide oversight of the project.

2. Participate in fieldwork and project oversight.

3. Coordinate with survey operators to identify survey(s) in appropriate areas for this work.

4. Provide real time direction or re-direction on data analysis, early results, and technical difficulties.

5. Provide feedback on data synthesis approach and prepared manuscripts.

6. Provide oversight and funding.

Performance Measures At the end of the study, the PO will assess performance of the program by answering the following questions:

a) Did the study address the objectives as cited in the cooperative agreement?

b) Were the results obtained from the study useful to BOEM information needs?

c) Were the study results useful to NEPA analyses?

d) Did the study results identify new resources or issues relevant to BOEM’s mission?

e) Were study results obtained within the time frame for intended use?

f) Did the study produce peer-reviewed products or use a scientific review board to validate study conclusions?

MEETINGS, REPORTS, AND OTHER DELIVERABLES

The Awardee is responsible for editing and proofreading all material in order to prepare products as error free as possible prior to their delivery to the BOEM. All reports shall be written as non-proprietary, releasable by BOEM to the public either through posting on the BOEM webpage or by other means unless stipulated elsewhere in the agreement.

Post-Award Meeting and Project Management Plan

The Awardee shall attend a Post-award Meeting with BOEM within two (2) weeks of award at a time that is mutually agreeable to BOEM and the Awardee. The meeting may be in person or via teleconference/webinar. At least one (1) week before the Post-award Meeting, the Awardee shall provide to all participants a meeting agenda and a draft Project Management Plan (PMP). The PMP shall include a timeline for completion as presented in the Proposal along with a discussion of roles and responsibilities. In the draft PMP, the Awardee shall clearly and concisely describe project responsibilities, plans for communication and coordination, record keeping, data management, quality control, and scheduling of all tasks, meetings, and deliverables. Any agreed to changes that might affect the agreement are subject to approval in writing by the Contracting Officer (CO).

Within two (2) weeks after the meeting, the Awardee shall prepare a written summary of the meeting and the final PMP.

Periodic Progress Reports

The Awardee shall submit periodic progress reports via email. The reports must include, at a minimum, the following components: a summary of all work performed during the period; an explanation of overall progress made against the work schedule; a summary of any significant technical, budgetary, or problems encountered during the report period, including an assessment of their probable effects on meeting task provisions, and proposed solutions.

The Awardee shall submit progress reports upon completion of:

1. The submission of the Field Plan

2. Tagging and sensor deployment;

3. Survey passage or disruption (e.g., delay due to tropical weather event; cancellation); and

4. Completion of data retrieval.

Field Plan As outlined in Task 1.1, the Awardee shall present a Field Plan to the BOEM PO for approval.

Photographic Work Documentation Performance of work during some tasks may be documented through photography and may include videography. The quality of the images and video shall be good to very good and shall be suitable for use in printed material and PowerPoint presentations or for duplication. The images shall be clearly identified by task, location, date, and subject matter. The photography and videography shall be delivered to BOEM on external Universal Serial Bus (USB) (version 3.0 or higher) hard drive(s) with Type-A USB connectors, formatted for reading/writing by the current Microsoft (MS) Windows® computer operating system, shall be considered part of the final report, and shall be delivered to BOEM per the deliverable schedule for the final report.

Disclaimer Language This language shall be included in the draft and final reports (on the disclaimer page) and in all manuscripts intended to be published in journals and all abstracts or summaries prepared for oral presentations based on this study. An acknowledgement page with this statement shall be incorporated into the PowerPoint slides for oral presentations.

This report has been technically reviewed by BOEM, and it has been approved for publication. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Government, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

Draft Final Report

Upon completion of the Key Tasks in Section 5, the Awardee shall prepare a final report that contains the following elements:

a. An introduction, methods, results from Key Tasks, and discussion section;

b. Any complications and deviations from original plans (if any);

c. Methodology for QA/QC of data collected, data reduction, data validation, and analyses procedures;

d. Details of the work completed, methodologies, techniques, equipment, evaluations, analyses, and interpretations employed or generated in the fulfillment of the task order requirements; and

e. Tables, figures, graphics, and maps to clearly illustrate descriptions and discussions.

The Final Report will start as a Draft Report and shall conform to specifications and templates found at BOEM’s website: https://www.boem.gov/ESP-Data-and-Information-Specifications/. The draft deliverables shall conform to the submission time requirements. The “Draft” Report may go through several BOEM reviews before it is deemed acceptable by BOEM. The last version of the “Draft” Report shall incorporate comments, corrections, and additions identified during this review. Once the “Draft” Report is deemed acceptable to BOEM, the Awardee may then proceed to prepare the “Final” Report, due four (4) weeks after the last “Draft” Report is approved.

A “Draft” report that requires many changes, corrections, edits, or additions shall be deemed unacceptable. If the report is unacceptable, it shall be returned to the Awardee for correction and re-submittal, still as a draft report. The “Draft/Final” Reports should be concise, but must be well-written, edited, professional in appearance, and should be addressed to a general government audience. Subjects that are technical may be reported in chapter or report appendices. The Awardee is responsible for editing and proofreading all material to prepare products as error-free as possible prior to their delivery to ensure products of the highest technical and editorial standard.

Once approval has been granted to prepare the “Final” Report, the Awardee will be provided with the report covers and title page that include the BOEM OCS study number.

The Final Report must include the following statement of its availability in BOEM’s Environmental Studies Program (ESP) Information System (ESPIS) at https://www.boem.gov/espis/:

To download a PDF file of an ESP report, go to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, ESPIS website and search on OCS Study BOEM xxxx-xxx.

Final Report The Awardee shall submit a Final Report including any changes and/or comments noted by BOEM. The Awardee shall provide the rationale in a letter accompanying the Final Report for, and review, comments not accommodated. MS Word and searchable-text high-quality PDF digital master copies of the report without password protection shall be provided to BOEM.

Presentation Slides The Awardee shall prepare collections of ca. 10 to 20 slides with captions or equivalent computer slide show. The slides, with captions, shall portray activities conducted during the course of agreement performance, study design, objectives, methods, and study results and interpretations. The slides will be used by BOEM in future presentations about the outcomes of the study.

Project Webinar After the final report is submitted and accepted, and as specified under Section 11, the Awardee shall present a webinar on the project findings, recommendations, and details of tasks accomplished to BOEM staff and invited participants, which may include fishermen, other stakeholders, and/or the general public. Awardee’s appropriate technical leads shall participate in the presentation.

Correspondence All correspondence pertaining to this Agreement prepared by the Awardee shall have a courtesy copy (with attachments) sent to the PO and CO. Correspondence pertaining to this Agreement received by the Awardee (excluding correspondence to and from the BOEM) shall be copied and sent to the PO and CO according to the schedule in Section 11. All correspondence shall be clearly marked with the Award Number on the first page.

Journal Publication, Posters, and/or Oral Presentations The Awardee shall submit drafts of publications, public presentations, posters, etc. based on this study for a courtesy review by the PO and other BOEM personnel prior to submission/display to outside entities. The Awardee shall document and submit the results of such efforts, e.g., acceptance for publications, acceptance for presentations, final versions, journal articles published, presentations, abstracts, proceedings papers, and reference citations.

All such publications and oral (and/or poster) presentations shall contain an acknowledgement of support from BOEM under this Cooperative Agreement that states, “Study collaboration and funding were provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Environmental Studies Program, Washington, D.C., under Agreement Number ___________.”

An acknowledgement page shall be incorporated into the PowerPoint slides for oral presentations. Publication of scientific results in peer-reviewed journals is strongly encouraged. PowerPoint and poster presentations shall include BOEM’s current logo that the PO will provide upon request by the Awardee.

List of Purchased Equipment Submit a list of all purchased equipment at the conclusion of the project.

REFERENCES

Fish, M. P., A. S. Kelsey, and W. H. Mowbray (1952). “Studies on the production of underwater sound by north Atlantic coastal fishes.” Journal of Marine Research 11: 180-193.

Sanchez, P. J., R. S. Appeldoorn, M. T. Schärer-Umpierre, and J. V. Locascio (2017).

“Patterns of courtship acoustics and geophysical features at spawning sites of black grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci).” Fishery Bulletin 115(2): 186-195.

DELIVERABLES, DISTRIBUTION, AND DUE DATES

Deliverable products described above, shall be submitted to the addresses shown in Section 12 in accordance with the following schedules. To the maximum extent practicable, deliverables shall be submitted in electronic form using the latest version of MS Word as the primary word processing software. Files should also be readily convertible using the latest version of Acrobat software to a PDF file. Any physical data storage media (e.g., hard drives) shall formatted for reading and writing by the current Microsoft Windows® computer operating system.

1. The submission of the Field Plan

2. Tagging and sensor deployment;

3. Survey passage or disruption (e.g., delay due to tropical weather event; cancellation); and

4. Completion of data retrieval.

ADDRESSES FOR RECIPIENTS OF DELIVERABLES

Contracting Officer (CO) T.B.D.

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Acquisition Management Division 45600 Woodland Road, MSC VAE-AMD Sterling, VA 20166-4280 Telephone: (703) 787-????

E-mail: ????.????@bsee.gov

Project Officer (PO)/ Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) Dr. Katherine Segarra, Coastal Science Lead Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 1201 Elmwood Park Blvd New Orleans, LA 70123 Telephone: (504) 731-1489 E-mail: katherine.segarra@boem.gov

Environmental Studies Program (ESP) Representative Dr. Michael Rasser, Marine Ecologist Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 45600 Woodland Road, MSC VAM-OEP Sterling, VA 20166-4280 Telephone: (703) 787-1729 E-mail: michael.rasser@boem.gov

Chief, Division of Environmental Sciences (DES Chief) Chief, DES c/o ESP Specialist Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Division of Environmental Sciences 45600 Woodland Road, MSC VAM-OEP Sterling, VA 20166-4280 E-mail: environmentalstudiesprogram2@boem.gov NSL #GM-20-01b Mini-SOW | Page 2 of 2