Apalachicola Bay Oyster Restoration

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is requesting competitive bids for Apalachicola Bay Oyster Restoration services with sealed bids due November 3, 2026 at 1:30 PM ET, and a mandatory pre-bid conference scheduled for October 14, 2026 at 9:30 AM ET via teleconference. Work is located in Franklin County, Florida. Subcontracting is not permitted.

The scope requires deployment of a minimum of 26,666 cubic yards of approved restoration material (uniformly sized concrete, mixed-layer concrete, or crushed lime rock) across two parallel restoration sites totaling 12.4 acres, with specified dimensions of 300 yards by 100 yards by 16 inches in height. The contractor must also disperse existing restoration material from 2024 projects to reduce site heights. The contractor bears full responsibility for staging areas, shallow-draft barges and qualified vessel operators, securing all necessary permits and compliance, and submitting laboratory assays confirming material specifications. Work occurs only between May 1 and September 1, on weekdays excluding state holidays, between sunrise and 30 minutes before sunset Eastern Time. All work must be completed by September 1, 2027.

The estimated contract value is $3.5 million over a one-year contract term from purchase order issuance. Bidders must price as cost per cubic yard for material delivery, staging, and labor, plus cost per acre to disperse existing material; the lowest responsive and responsible bidder receives the award. The contractor must maintain a minimum of three verifiable references for similar barge deployment projects completed within the past eight years, provide a 100 percent performance bond within 10 days of purchase order issuance, and maintain workers' compensation and general liability insurance. Liquidated damages of $100 per calendar day apply for failure to complete by September 1, 2027. Payment is issued in arrears upon completion and FWC verification of each deployment. Vendors must be registered in MyFloridaMarketPlace and SunBiz prior to bid opening. Written questions are due October 21, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET. The anticipated award date is November 6, 2026.