Coastal imaging and habitat classification in Pacific Canada

Objective: The purpose of this Standing Offer is to provide professional services related to the design, implementation, review, and maintenance of coastal imaging and habitat classification data and products for the Pacific Coast of Canada. Using the Contractor’s comprehensive knowledge and demonstrated expertise in coastal imaging and habitat classification for Pacific Canadian waters, conducting aerial imaging and ground truthing surveys, and processing aerial imagery to result in concrete, open source data products, the Contractor will support a variety of end goals within Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) related to shoreline classification, habitat vulnerability, fish and fisheries protection and ocean protection. Specific goals will include (but not limited to):

•  completion of aerial imaging and ground truthing shore station surveys,
• spatial mapping of shoreline geomorphological and biological attributes,
• database creation and services to permit data sharing and presentation of information to various groups, and
• publication of end products and reports.

  DFO will benefit from these services by having the data and analyses required for the Ocean Protection Program and spill response planning initiatives appropriately and efficiently collected, processed, and documented.

Background: DFO’s Ecosystem and Science Division (ESD) Science Branch in the Pacific Region is developing data products including representations of shoreline habitat, classification, and vulnerability to support a variety of federal programs including the Ocean Protection Program, Protected Areas Strategy, Marine Spatial Planning and Integrated Marine Emergency Response Planning. A core objective of these efforts is to advance the department’s understanding of shoreline habitat mapping and classification in the Pacific Region.

Challenges facing the development of habitat mapping and classification in this context include implementation of a standardized coastal imaging and shoreline habitat classification system which is applicable to multiple, international end-users, is able to be published in open data forums and able to adapt and evolve with emerging technologies. Important considerations include the spatial and temporal variability of coastal ecosystems, the need to appropriately scale and classify shoreline geomorphological and biological attributes, the ability to enable data sharing through open access via web based forums and the necessity of accurate and detailed documentation of methods, results, and assumptions.

Scope of Work: Fisheries and Oceans Canada is seeking Contractors to support the design, implementation, review and maintenance of standardized coastal imaging and habitat classification for the Pacific Coast of Canada.

The Contractor will support a variety of end goals within Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) related to standardized coastal imaging and habitat classification, habitat vulnerability, fish and fisheries protection and ocean protection. Specific goals will include (but may not be limited to) completion of aerial imaging and shore station surveys, shoreline spatial mapping, database creation of shoreline geomorphological and biological attributes and documentation of data sources and data products according to Federal Geospatial Data Committee metadata standards.

All non field work will be performed at the Contractor’s location, where staff will have access to suitable workspace with appropriate computer and software resources including but not limited to MS Word, ArcGIS or compatible geospatial data processing software, and R. Field work will be performed on location using resources supplied by the Contractor.

The term of this standing offer is five (5) years, with the option to extend for an additional two (2) years.

Any call-ups resulting from this Standing Offer will have clear requirements outlining the expectations of the Scientific Authority, including deliverables and timelines. Any work undertaken as part of this standing offer will be provided to DFO on a regular basis for review and consultation. No project results will be accepted without an approved, co-developed scoping document, standardized metadata, digital and hard copies of all raw and processed data files and/or geodatabases and any source code (e.g., Python, R) used to process or analyse the independent or the dependent data.