Statement of Work Draft

STATEMENT OF WORK/SPECIFICATIONS

The contractor shall furnish the necessary personnel, material, equipment, services and facilities (except as otherwise specified) to perform the following Statement of Work/Specifications: CHARTERED VESSEL TO CONDUCT LONGLINE SURVEY IN THE EASTERN BERING SEA,

THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS REGION, AND THE GULF OF ALASKA

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BACKGROUND

The National Marine Fisheries Service’s (Fisheries) Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) has conducted longline surveys since 1987 to measure abundance and collect size and age data for adult sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) and other groundfish. The survey primarily samples the upper continental slope of the Eastern Bering Sea, the Aleutian Islands Region, and the Gulf of Alaska. The 2027, 2029, and 2031 surveys will cover the Gulf of Alaska and the 2028, 2030 surveys will cover the eastern Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Region. In addition to sablefish, Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), rougheye (Sebastes aleutianus), blackspotted (Sebastes melanostictus) and shortraker (Sebastes borealis) rockfish, shortspine thornyhead (Sebastolobus alascanus) and Greenland turbot (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) are other valuable fish taken in significant numbers during the survey. A portion of the sablefish will have their ear bones (otoliths) extracted for aging analyses; minimal damage to these fish will occur so that their value will not be diminished. A portion of the sablefish, Greenland turbot, and shortspine thornyhead will be tagged and released as part of ongoing studies of their migration and growth.

OBJECTIVES

1. Determine the relative abundance and size composition of the most commercially important species: sablefish, shortspine thornyhead, Greenland turbot, Pacific cod, and rougheye, blackspotted, and shortraker rockfish. 2. Determine the relative abundance and size composition of other groundfish species caught during the survey including, arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias), grenadiers (Macrouridae), skates (Rajidae), and spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias).

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3. Tag and release a portion of the sablefish, shortspine thornyhead, and Greenland turbot taken throughout the cruise to determine migration patterns.
4. Collect sablefish otoliths to study the age composition of the population.

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SCOPE OF WORK

The survey shall begin on or about June 1 and end on or about July 20 in 2027, 2029, and 2031 and July 5 in 2028, and 2030. The survey shall start and end in Dutch Harbor unless the government and the contractor mutually agree