CEFAS24-95 Contract for ad hoc ecological data collection fieldwork, Hinkley Point

1st Ranked Supplier - The BEEMS (British EDF Estuarine and Marine Studies) Hinkley Point programme is funded by Nuclear New Build Generation Company (HPC) Ltd. (subsidiary of EDF Energy). Through this programme, Cefas provide authoritative scientific information on the marine and transitional waters in the vicinity of potential new build nuclear power stations and require competent supplier/s to deliver the elements described below.

Requirement: Cefas requires the supplier/s to provide ad hoc services to conduct intertidal data collection fieldwork to detect and monitor seagrass abundance, distribution, condition and reproductive effort at various sites in the vicinity of Hinkley Point, Somerset.

It is the intention that this Contract will be awarded to multiple suppliers. Cefas will approach the 1st ranked supplier to offer an opportunity, in the event that the 1st ranked supplier is unable to meet the requirement then the requirement will be offered to the next ranked supplier, and so on.

Cefas is unable to guarantee any set value, or quantity, of work under this Contract. The advertised value of £115,000.00 is the maximum amount available to be awarded for the whole Contract duration and is not guaranteed.

Data collection surveys will include ground truthing with Global Positioning System (GPS) and camera quadrats at specific locations, with target areas provided ahead of individual surveys (Stolford and Magor). There is potential for additional locations in the Severn Estuary and/or Bristol Channel. Survey dates are currently unknown and often requirements are of short notice, requiring vessels to mobilise within short timescales. The object of the exercise is to secure multiple suppliers that can be called upon at short notice to supply the services required.

Additionally, Cefas requires the supplier/s to deploy data loggers and periodically maintain those loggers - specification and sites are yet to be confirmed however are expected at high, mid and low shore sites. Suppliers are required to include options for data analysis of the collected survey data. For example; proportion of seagrass percentage cover, metrics for seagrass condition and reproductive effort assessments

Suppliers should include options to utilise small vessels, or hovercrafts for surveying on challenging intertidal substrates with instant access in an emergency situation.