Marine conservation strategy planning

Tender description

The UK has 14 overseas territories which are internationally recognised for their exceptionally rich and varied natural environments. Through its commitment to develop a blue belt around the overseas territories, the UK Government has set out its ambition to better protect these important natural resources. As well as the existing marine protected areas around the British Indian Ocean Territory and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the UK Government recently announced the designation of a no-take MPA around Pitcairn, a sustainable use MPA around St Helena, a roadmap to determine the location of a no-take MPA across at least half of ascension’s maritime zone by 2019 and a regime to protect the waters across Tristan da Cunha’s entire maritime zone by 2020. 1) The MMO wish to procure satellite surveillance services via a contract with one supplier. Under the contract, the MMO will offer no guarantees of any minimum level of work over the contract duration. Tasks under the contract will be called off on an ad hoc basis through work orders, 2) the contract awarded under this tender will last for 2 years with an option to extend for a further 1 year, 3) the MMO wishes to build maritime domain awareness in relation to presence of fishing vessels across the entire maritime zones and a 100 nautical mile buffer zone of the following seven UK OTs: — BIOT, — SGSSI, — ascension, — St Helena, — Tristan da Cunha, — Pitcairn, — British Antarctic Territory – in the specific vicinity of the South Orkney Southern Shelf Marine Protected Area, and northwards towards SGSSI. Key Objectives (KOs). 1) The successful supplier must be able to provide satellite imagery capable of identifying vessels at sea which may be engaged in illegal fishing. Surveillance imagery should be capable of detecting fishing vessels that are less than 10 m in length, 2) the successful supplier must provide analysis of the satellite surveillance imagery using Automatic Identification System (AIS), Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) or /and other regional fishing systems to give vessel location in decimal degrees and vessel type, course, speed and comparison against AIS, VMS, or other systems, 3) the successful supplier will be able to acquire satellite data and process with minimal notice (7 days minimum) this is an unlikely scenario with most surveillance planned significantly ahead of time however suppliers should be capable of responding to a short deadline, 4) the successful supplier must provide analysis of AIS tracking, highlighting suspicious activity including, but not limited to: — activity associated with fishing speed or pattern, — AIS transmission gaps, — tracks from a bunker, container or reefer vessels which may suggest engagement with a “dark vessel”, and — cross reference vessels to establish whether they are licenced by the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RMFOs). 5) The supplier must provide reports, in line with agreed reporting formats and timelines (see reports and outputs), so that proposed actions are summarised in an accessible format and that they can feed into the MMO’s intelligence management system (see annex 3 attached). Where there is significant information to suggest incidents of non-compliance (AIS or satellite imagery), the supplier must be capable of reporting such incidents immediately to the MMO and certainly within 24 hours (during the working week). Reports can be made verbally and followed up with written information, 6) The successful supplier must provide information which can be used to conduct investigations and which may be submitted as evidence in court. The successful suppliers may be asked to identify (a) suitable individual(s) (expert witness(es)) to provide witness statements and produce exhibits such as raw data and charts in line with MMO requirements. Expert witnesses may also be required to provide evidence at court. The supplier must plan accordingly for this, 7) the successful supplier must have the capability to support a fisheries patrol vessel and provide high frequency images identifying “dark” vessels which will be used to inform the tasking of the patrol vessel and, where possible, intercept suspicious vessels. The supplier must be capable of (but not limited to): — gathering high frequency imagery (daily at least) over a defined area to support a fisheries patrol (patrol times are likely to be between 7-31 days, — reporting AIS incursions in as near to real time as possible, — daily reporting of satellite analysis, and — locating suspicious activity (decimal degrees) and relaying information not limited to course and speed, to support a course of interception by a patrol vessel.