Creating Bottom Patches for Haida Gwaii, Queen Charlotte Strait and Johnstone Strait

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has a requirement  for  “Creating Bottom Patches for Haida Gwaii, Queen Charlotte Strait and Johnstone Strait” services to be carried out in accordance with the Statement of Work. 

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science has been tasked with mapping benthic ecosystems. The benthic ecosystems mapping project entails the development and maintenance of a geo-spatial database to store and analyze marine abiotic and biotic data that vary spatially and temporally. These data will subsequently be used for analyses that predict habitat suitability for Valued Ecosystem Components (species or habitats). 

Contract Dates
The intent is to establish a contract for the period from contract award to December 31, 2015.

Objectives
The objective of this contract is to create the reference nearshore GIS layer for all of Haida Gwaii as well as all the straits between Vancouver Island and the BC coast mainland (i.e. Queen Charlotte Strait, Johnstone Strait and Strait of Georgia). Essentially, under this contract, the reference GIS layer will be completed for all of BC coastline using the same methodology. Additionally, as more multibeam surveys are being conducted and increasingly in shallower waters where these surveys may be useful for mapping the nearshore, there is a need to assess how the results differ when multibeam data are used and to evaluate how multibeam data can be incorporated into the current frameworks.

Security Requirements
There are no security requirements as the contractor, and his sub-contractors if applicable, will not have access or handle protected documents and/or confidential information.

Required Resources or Types of Roles to be Performed

Requirements of Resources Provided:
•	 Expertise in GIS – a minimum of 5 years of working with GIS, specifically ArcGIS 9 or later
•	Experience assembling data layers into a common reference system (i.e. a common coastline)
•	Experience working in GIS in the marine environment using CHS chart data
•	Extensive knowledge of the BC provincial ShoreZone dataset
•	Familiarity with PMECS and EBSA definitions, as the nearshore classification will ultimately be integrated into these two broader frameworks. 
•	Knowledge of the different data sources used in Gregr et al 2013
•	Knowledge of backscatter classification methods
•	Previous experience building the bottom patches as described in Gregr et al 2013

Contracting Authority
Cathi Harris
Fisheries and Oceans Canada      
301 Bishop Drive	
Fredericton, NB
E3C 2M6
Tel: (506) 452-3639
Fax. (506) 452-3676
Email: DFOtenders-soumissionsMPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca