Troller Vessel Charter for Chinook Salmon Research

TITLE:

Troller Vessel Charter For Chinook Salmon Research 

CONTRACT PERIOD

The period of this contract is from Contract award till March 31, 2021, with options to renew for three (3) additional 1 year periods at the sole discretion of DFO.

Optional periods if exercised will be from April 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022 (12 months), April 1, 2022 through March 31, 2023 (12 months), and April 1, 2023 through March 31, 2024 (12 months).

The project work will take place annually from May through to the end of September, with work in 2020 postponed until June due to COVID-19. Exact dates will be determined by the DFO scientist in-charge. The contractor will be informed of the exact dates for the given year by the DFO scientist in-charge with a minimum notice of 2 weeks before the work commences annually.

OBJECTIVE

The Contractor is required to provide Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) a trolling vessel (hereafter referred to as the “Survey Vessel”) and its accompanying crew to conduct Chinook salmon research survey(s) off the southwest coast of Vancouver Island.

The objective of this survey is to quantify seasonal variation in Chinook salmon population composition within nearshore areas off the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Survey operations will be directed by DFO staff on board the Survey Vessel. All survey operations will begin and end in Ucluelet, B.C.

SCOPE OF WORK AND SURVEY SPECIFICATIONS

Chinook salmon populations from throughout southern British Columbia rear in waters off the southwest coast of Vancouver Island where they contribute to valuable fisheries and play an integral role in pelagic foodwebs (e.g. prey for resident killer whales). Chinook salmon populations and life history types differ in marine spatial distributions and their duration of residency within this region; however, this variation has not been quantified.

Chinook will be captured using troll gear, landed, sampled for genetic stock identification purposes, and returned to the water. A subset of individuals will be fitted with acoustic telemetry tags that will be used to estimate duration of residence within specific regions (i.e. SW Vancouver Island, Juan de Fuca Strait, Strait of Georgia, coastal Washington/Oregon) and quantify survival during return migrations. This data will provide estimates of vulnerability to various fisheries, an index of availability to resident killer whales, and information on fine scale habitat use.

Two- to four-day surveys will be conducted approximately weekly in the area around La Perouse Bank throughout June, August, and September. The work will follow a standardized transect line though sampling locations may be modified to meet sampling objectives for deploying acoustic tags. The Survey Vessel must be available to sample the area for a minimum of 12 days through June 1-Sep. 30, 2020 and should be based out Ucluelet or Bamfield to minimize travel time. Greater availability, up to 26 days over the same period, will be considered advantageous. Specific sampling days will be selected based on weather windows.

Summary:

Length of Survey: 12-26 fishing days between June 1 and Sep. 30, 2020

Time window: Weekly or biweekly

Location: West coast of Vancouver Island (Fig.1)

Vessel crew: 2 minimum

Science staff accommodations: 2