CEFAS21-85 RFQ for vessel services to support a sediment sampling survey- Devon

Tender description

Objective 1 (2 days) The commissioning of a new dredged material disposal site within Lyme Bay has resulted in the need to conduct a baseline survey of the benthic habitats within and in the vicinity of the disposal site boundaries (Figure 2.). Objective 2 (2 days) The deployment of BRUVS within Lyme Bay, is also proposed to take place during the charter, within a suitable location identified within the area highlighted in Figure 2. Requirement: Objective 1 - Sediment Sampling Cefas require a suitable vessel to carry out a 2-day survey of the newly created Lyme Bay dredge disposal site, the vessels must be capable of carrying a minimum of 3 Cefas staff and deploying suitable equipment to support the survey requirements. Grab samples using the vessel-supplied grab (0.1 m2 mini Hamon grab and 0.1 m2 Day grab) will be collected for benthic fauna, contaminants, and particle size analysis. The benthic fauna will be processed (including the addition of 10 % formaldehyde) during the survey. The ability to freeze (-20oC) the sediment retained for contaminants particle size analysis will also be required. Requirement: Objective 2 - The deployment of Mid-water and benthic BRUVS In addition to the above requirements (Objective 1) the vessel should also be capable of deploying and recovering a set of mid-water water BRUVS (Figure 1a and b.). The BRUVS are made from carbon fibre and deployed in a string with each rig 50m apart. The rigs can be deployed tethered to the vessel or left to drift with the vessel standing by to recover after ~1 hour. The main aim of this objective is for Cefas personnel to be trained by an experienced PhD student (non-Cefas) in the setting up, deployment and recovery of the equipment.