SOW.pdf

Statement of Work Marine Mammal Surveys

1.0 Background

The Southern California Offshore Range (SCORE) encompasses a broad area extending over 200 miles south from the northern end of San Clemente Island (SCI), west beyond Cortez Bank, and southeast into the international waters off the northern Baja California coast. Within these boundaries, off the western shore of SCI, lies the Southern California Antisubmarine Warfare Range (SOAR). Located in the San Nicolas basin, the range consists of 178 bottom-mounted hydrophones designed to track underwater vehicles. The range covers an area of over 600 nmi2 in water that ranges from approximately 1,200 to 2,000 m in depth. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport’s (NUWCDIVNPT’s) Marine Mammal Monitoring on Navy Ranges (M3R) program installed a system in 2006 that utilizes the SOAR hydrophones to detect, classify, localize, and monitor marine mammals in real-time using passive acoustics. M3R personnel use the system to locate marine mammal species of interest and direct on-water researchers accordingly. The M3R program works in collaboration with an on-water research team(s) to conduct various field tests and collect a variety of types of data in support of the US Navy’s Integrated Comprehensive Monitoring Program (ICMP).

The Government requires conducting on-water surveys at SOAR that combine photo-identification, biopsy, and tagging, focused on species of interest to include Cuvier’s beaked whales and fin whales. A combination of the real-time M3R tools and visual surveys on SOAR can help maximize the Navy’s need to conduct effective marine mammal monitoring as part of the ICMP. The Navy also has a need to continue long-term demographic studies within SCORE to assess population status of various species.

This work will satisfy the regulatory need to discern the behavioral responses of beaked whales, fin whales and other species to Navy Mid Frequency Active (MFA) sonar. Individual responses to real Navy sound sources, as recorded by satellite tags such as the Sound Motion and Recording Tag (SMRT), will inform Navy Take Estimates, a key aspect of NOAA/NMFS regulatory requirements. Satellite tag data collected by the contractor can be reviewed and compared against Government provided sonar data to estimate received levels on tagged whales and interpret any possible response.

1.1 Place of Performance:

The place of performance is the water offshore of Southern California.

1.2 Sponsor:

The sponsor is Commander, Pacific Fleet, N46.

1.3 Type of Funding:

This contract will be funded with Operations and Maintenance, Navy funds.

2.0 Scope

Vessel surveys shall be conducted on the SOAR range in coordination with M3R in order to locate, identify, photograph, biopsy and/or tag Cuvier’s beaked whales, fin whales and other species of interest as required by the ICMP program. The contractor shall be responsible for providing a vessel and all related equipment suitable for photographing, tagging, and biopsy work.

3.0 Applicable Documents

No. Title SOW Task

3.1 Hawaii and Southern California Testing and Training Letter of Authorization (2014) National Marine Fisheries Service

4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.2, 4.3

3.2 ANSI-Z39.18; Scientific and Technical Reports - Elements 4.1.1

4.0 Tasking

The contractor shall perform the following tasks in accordance with (IAW) Applicable Documents (ADs) listed in section 3.0 and utilizing Government Furnished Information (GFI) listed in section 6.0.

4.1 The contractor shall conduct vessel surveys in coordination with M3R and SCORE to locate, identify, photograph, and to biopsy, tag, or biopsy & tag Cuvier’s beaked whales, fin whales and other species as required.

The contractor shall be responsible for providing a vessel and all related equipment suitable for photographing, tagging, and biopsy work. The vessel must be equipped with an Automatic Identification System (AIS), along with all appropriate safety, communication, and navigation equipment as determined by U.S. Coast Guard regulations.

The contractor shall provide a minimum of five satellite tags capable of recording 28 days of dive and movement data per year. Field efforts are required and will be scheduled to coincide with available support from M3R for 30 days per year for the life of the contract.

The contractor shall participate in planning meetings by phone. The contractor shall be responsible for tabulating all data in a format matching that of the Navy’s ICMP data standards, provided as GFI, including tables, figures and maps to support sighting and effort details for two reports.

4.1.1 Deliverables

The contractor shall deliver the following:

1) An interim report summarizing effort and sighting details for review by the sponsor IAW CDRL A001.

2) A final report summarizing all effort and sighting details incorporating sponsor comments IAW CDRL A001.

3) A report shall be delivered detailing the disposition of the photographs and related data, including where they were shared IAW CDRL A002.

4.2. The contractor shall compare photographs of Cuvier’s beaked whales, fin whales and other marine mammals collected during the performance of Task 4.1 (above) to existing photographic catalogs and perform analyses to contribute to long-term studies of population structure, demographics, and distribution within the Southern California Range Complex. The contractor shall report new population estimates based on updated mark-recapture results.

4.2.1 Deliverables

The contractor shall deliver a report providing analyses of population structure, demographics and distribution of Cuvier’s beaked whales, fin whales, and other species of interest IAW CDRL A003.

4.3 The Contractor shall identify periods when tagged whales were present within the bounds of SOAR.

NUWCDIVNPT will provide the contractor a limited summary of operations involving sonar coincident to tagged whales in the area as GFI in individual task orders. The contractor shall compare modeled locations of tagged whales against the sonar operations, provided as GFI, to generate estimated received levels and assess possible behavioral responses of tagged whales. The contractor shall combine these results with data from 2014 – 2015 used in previous analyses, provided as GFI in individual task orders.

4.3.1 Deliverables

The contractor shall deliver the following:

1) A report identifying those periods when tagged whales were present within SOAR IAW CDRL A004.

2) A report providing the estimated received levels experienced by tagged whales and an assessment of possible behavioral responses IAW CDRL A005.

4.4 The contractor shall attend annual meeting associated with the US Navy Marine Species Monitoring Technical Review Meeting, date to be specified in individual task orders.

4.4.1 Deliverables

The contractor shall deliver a Trip Report IAW CDRL A006.

5.0 Progress Reports

The contractor shall prepare a Contractor’s Status Report that indicates the progress of work, status of the program(s), and existing or potential problem areas for all assigned tasks. The contractor shall submit the Contract Status Report for the same timeframe as each invoice submitted in the Wide Area Workflow (WAWF) Module of the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE). CDRL A007– DI-MGMT-81991.

6.0 Government Furnished Information

The following Government Furnished Information (GFI) will be made available under this contract.

6.1 For Official Use Only (FOUO) document summarizing sonar and live-fire operations/locations/times will be provided to the contractor for use in Task 4.

6.2 Navy ICMP data standards for data collection and report generation

7.0 Quality Surveillance and Performance Standards

The Government will conduct quality surveillance via various methods including formal and informal meetings, review of technical reports, review of monthly progress reports, and review of deliverables. Contractor performance will be evaluated in the areas of technical quality, schedule/timeliness, management, and regulatory compliance as follows:

Technical Quality: The Government will evaluate technical quality;

Schedule/Timeliness: The Government will evaluate the contractor’s ability to meet negotiated milestones and delivery schedules;

Management: The Government will evaluate the contractor’s ability to integrate and coordinate all activities needed to execute the task order; and Regulatory Compliance: The Government will evaluate the contractor’s compliance with the terms and conditions of the contract/task order relating to applicable regulations and codes.