Prince Edward Island Fishermen's Assoc.

The DFO Science team in collaboration with the PEI Fishermen’s Association will be seeking the services of a PEI Captain & support vessel to provide assistance to the team while sampling in the Alberton and Nine Mile Creek area.
Each area has different requirements. Please be sure you review requirements for the area you are interested in providing your services.

LFA 24
Contract Period
The work will be performed before October 31^st, 2021.
The work period will consist of four continuous days.

Contract Area of Operation
The work will be conducted in LFA 24, in the southern Gulf of Saint Lawrence (see figure 1). The work will be completed as day trips and the berthing port for loading and unloading the vessel at the beginning and at the end of each day and at the end of this project will be Alberton, PEI.
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Work Requirements
·       For up to four days at sea, serve as a work platform for DFO science staff. The work will include being in communication with the DFO dive team that will be completing dive collections and dive transects in the study area and approaching the DFO dive vessel to retrieve samples collected by the dive team. The number of work days will be weather dependent, and determined by the chief scientist in consultation with the captain.
·       Personnel (one captain (1) and at least one (1) crew member) must assist DFO scientific representatives.

LFA 26A
Contract Period
The work will be performed before October 31^st, 2021.
The work period will consist of four continuous days.

Contract Area of Operation
The work will be conducted in LFA 26A, in the southern Gulf of Saint Lawrence (see figure 2). The work will be completed as day trips and the berthing port for loading and unloading the vessel at the beginning and at the end of each day and at the end of this project will be Nine Mile Creek, PEI.
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Work Requirements
·       For up to four days at sea, use a beam trawl to collect marine species, including lobster and rock crab, within a defined study area. The work will include being in communication with the DFO dive team that will be completing dive collections and dive transects in the study area and approaching the DFO dive vessel to retrieve samples collected by the dive team. The number of workdays will be weather dependent and determined by the chief scientist in consultation with the captain.
·       The beam trawl is a 4.2 m beam trawl with 45 mm netting and a 12 mm liner. The beam trawl will be provided by DFO.
·       Personnel (one captain (1) and at least one (1) crew member) must assist DFO scientific representatives.

Contractor Obligations
·       The crew and captain will be able to complete minor repairs to the beam trawl (e.g. fix tears) on board the vessel and at the wharf (repair materials will be provided by DFO). Beam trawl and material for beam trawl repair will be provided by DFO.
·       The captain or a crew member must have a minimum of one season of experience in commercial fishing with a trawl in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.

DFO Obligations:
DFO chief scientist will provide and deliver to the vessel all required fishing and sampling equipment, as per this statement of work.

For Both LFA 24 and 26A
10.1 Vessel requirements:
·       The contractor shall ensure that the vessel is seaworthy, the main engine, equipment and fishing gear, are in good operating condition. The vessel must have sufficient room for the work planned and be equipped with adequate mechanical and electronic navigation equipment as well as the survival equipment set out in the Canada Shipping Act.
·       Maintain, throughout the contract period, all certificates, lifesaving equipment and apparatus as required by The Canada Shipping Act and pursuant regulations.
·       The vessel will provide fuel for trips.
·       The vessel and crew will be ready on three days’ notice within the contract period.
Note: A visit of the vessel by DFO scientific members could take place if deemed necessary.

Master and Crew requirements:
·       A captain and at least one (1) qualified and experienced crew member will be required during the entire study who are able to assist DFO scientific personnel during sampling and data collection. DFO representatives must not be included when determining crew requirements.
·       The same crew members must be available for the entire survey. If the Contractor is unable to provide the services of any specific individual identified in the contract, it must provide a replacement with similar qualifications and experience and give a minimum 2 week notice to the Contracting Authority with proof of equivalency.

Additional requirements and conditions
·       Although the captain is in charge at all times, he/she shall comply with the instructions of DFO Scientific Authority provided the safety of the vessel and the crew members is not compromised.
·       The captain and crew member must provide a healthy work environment, smoke free (inside the vessel) and respectful. Any physical, verbal or psychological harassment from the captain, crew member or contractor will not be tolerated.
·       The captain of the vessel must keep a daily log of operations and activities on board the vessel, both at sea and in port, and shall allow access to the log by the DFO Scientific Authority at all times.
·       The captain shall provide all possible cooperation and assistance to the DFO Scientific Authority with regards to the gathering, preparation and updating of documents concerning the specific sites sampled and the species and quantities of fish and invertebrates caught.
·       No commercial fishing activities shall be conducted during the period set aside for the study. The captain may not take advantage of the research survey to do any commercial fishing.
·       The Captain agrees that he shall maintain third party liability insurance on his vessel (in the amount of $1,000,000.00 per occurrence on his vessel). A copy of the insurance plan will need to be provided.
·       The Captain will be required to sign a contract with the PEIFA (copy of the contract can be provided for their info) agreeing to the protocol, rate of pay and insurance
·       A T4A will be issued upon completion of the project thus the PEIFA will require the Captain’s Social Insurance Number (SIN)

COVID-19 Restrictions
All DFO staff and vessel crew will comply with the PEI COVID-19 safety guidelines and regulations in place at the time of the project.

Interested Captains are asked to register online at www.peifa.org or contact the PEIFA office. Registration is free and will open 8:30am September 22, 2021. Any questions on the project, please contact Melanie Giffin: melanie@peifa.org or 902-566-4050 ext. 5

Deadline to submit your interest is 4:30PM, Monday, September 27^th, 2021. A draw of qualified Captains will take place following the deadline.