UPDATE OF NATIONAL INSTREAM FLOW NEEDS (IFN) REFERENCE POINTS FOR THE PROTECTION OF FISH AND FISH HABITAT

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has a requirement to hire a Contractor for services to initiate an assessment of the effectiveness of the recommended percentage of flow (POF) thresholds advice from DFO (2013) (i.e., +/- 10% of instantaneous flow; 30% of MAD) across different regions in Canada.

The Contractor must review, summarize, and examine compare some of the current status and up-to-date IFN assessment desktop methods or guidelines used in various jurisdictions in Canada, with the objective of identifying candidate methods that could be used to potentially revise, as applicable, the POF thresholds advice. Identify limitations, challenges (e.g., seasonal variability, timing, biologically significant periods, frequency, increased probability of flooding in Newfoundland and Maritimes vs. drought in western Canada, climate change, etc.), inapplicability, or effectiveness with regard to applying the existing science advice regionally.

The Contractor must use selected method(s) to conduct a desktop analysis to review the existing IFN science advice with focus on hydrological impacts of water withdrawal. The analysis should quantify POF thresholds for some drainage basins across different hydro-climatic regions in Canada.

The Contractor must initiate a discussion based on the analysis in Task 2.2 to eventually propose alternative or improved IFN POF thresholds or guidelines, with a focus on national / regional standardization where appropriate, so that they can be used in different jurisdictions for different water management activities (e.g., water withdrawal).

Criteria for assessment of the Statement of Capabilities (Minimum Essential Requirements)

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that it meets the following requirements:

Must have a minimum of a PhD with a specialization in a relevant field (e.g., ecohydrology, ecohydraulics, and IFN).

Must be familiar (demonstrated with considerable experience in direct research, teaching and production of primary literature publications) with applied research, including publications related to ecohydrology, ecohydraulics, and IFN or environmental flows (e-flows)).

Must demonstrate specific knowledge and experience in providing quantitative assessments via using statistical meta-analysis software (e.g., R packages).

Must be knowledgeable of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program (FFHPP) and the application of the Fisheries Act (2019) to achieve program goals.

Must have contributed to the development of or demonstrated substantial expertise in the 2013 DFO national IFN or e-flows science advisory framework.

Must have experience in operationalizing DFO scientific advice(s) and in providing relevant information or training to resource managers on results of applied scientific endeavors.

Must have a history of active collaboration with partners at the local, national, and international levels, including government scientists (provincial and federal), academic institutions, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Must have over 15 years of interdisciplinary experience in ecohydrology, ecohydraulics, and IFN. This includes hydrological and habitat modelling, statistical analyses of e-flows in relation to climate change, and in-depth evaluation of flow-ecology relationships contributing to the development of e-flows frameworks for freshwater ecosystems in Canada.