Thames Outer Nursery Survey - Inshore Fishing Vessel Charter

Cefas seeks to charter one or more inshore fishing vessels (minimum 10 m length overall) for two seasonal surveys in the Outer Thames during late August and/or early September. The surveys aim to collect critical data on juvenile sole abundance, recruitment patterns, and fish assemblage composition in the UK southern North Sea, an important nursery area. Each survey will last up to seven days and deploy standard beam trawl equipment (2 m or 3 m) supplied by Cefas at fixed survey sites. Vessels must have local knowledge of the northern Outer Thames (embarkation from West Mersea) and/or southern Outer Thames (embarkation from Whitstable), be capable of rigging and deploying survey gear, and accommodate all crew and equipment. The full-charter contract includes crew, management, fuel, victuals, harbour fees, insurance for survey equipment, and all services needed to complete sampling. Tenders must be submitted as fixed all-inclusive prices with itemized breakdowns for day rates, mobilisation and demobilisation, and weather downtime costs. To request the Bidder Pack, contact procure@cefas.gov.uk with subject line 'CEFAS26-86 ITT for Thames Survey Vessel Charter - bidder pack request'. Procurement is managed via email to better support the market.