UK Cetacean Bycatch Observation Scheme – Assessment of Bycatch of Protected Species in UK Fisheries

Tender description

The contract provides estimates of the accidental catches in UK fisheries. This is certain key groups of protected species, which by monitoring a selected sample of fishing operations and by analysis of fleet behaviour, can provide an understanding of the conservation threat posed by fisheries to these groups. The project focuses mainly on marine mammals, birds and sharks. The main object of the contract is to generate annual bycatch estimates for the marine mammal species recorded and to provide at least summary indicators of the scale of seabird and shark bycatch in the fisheries observed. The project produces annual reports at the end of every April (every year) tabulating fishing effort by key fishery and by region. This summarises the bycatch observations and associated estimates of protected species in each yearly bycatch. Lot 1: The Contractor will: undertake monitoring for 318 days on a range of fishing vessel types, the proportional composition of which will initially follow existing targets already established but which will be modified as appropriate in consultation with Defra and the PSG if and as changing policy objectives suggest refocusing observational effort in a different way. Sampling will continue to follow targets previously agreed to address requirements of Council Regulations 812/2004, 2019/1241 and Council Directive 92/43/EEC, but as UK has now left the EU, policy objectives are likely to change, so monitoring targets will be flexible such as monitoring can be refocused as deemed necessary over the life of the contract and beyond. Data collection will be added to customized statistical models developed to explore trends in bycatch rates for key species and in key fisheries, to look for geographical or other relevant patterns and to generate total bycatch estimates for common dolphins, harbour porpoises and grey seals in the annual reports for 2021 and 2022 and if data are sufficient for other protected species. Analysis uses General Additive Model (AGM) and ten of more fishery associated co-variates. Annual reports will be published by combining the results of observations during the year, combined as appropriate with data from previous years, with derived data on fishing effort from the iFish database and using GAM’s, which is the same approach which has been used annually since 2006.