Closed ATM View - PROC-2022-0059
Request for tender for Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (COTS) Control Program On-Water Services
(a) The Reef Authority is seeking submissions for the provision of one or more of the following Services:
(i) Service 1 - Full COTS Control, including reef surveillance and COTS culling operations on target reefs across the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP).
(ii) Service 2 – Sea Country-specific COTS culling and/or reef surveillance by GBR Traditional Owners or in partnership with GBR Traditional Owners on their Sea Country.
(iii) Service 3 - Location-specific or short-term COTS culling and/or reef surveillance, as required by the Reef Authority.
(b) COTS Acanthaster cf. solaris, outbreaks cause significant damage to coral reefs. Repeated COTS outbreaks are one of the major causes of coral decline observed over the past 40 years (Outlook Report 2019). The impacts of COTS outbreaks compound the damage caused by tropical cyclones, coral bleaching events, coral disease and river flood plume events.
(c) Strategic culling of COTS is a direct, targetable and scalable management action that can effectively protect coral on high-value reefs to support the Reef’s long-term resilience.
(d) The Reef Authority has coordinated COTS control in the GBRMP since 2012, working closely with research and program delivery partners to deliver a program that has continually improved via science-based innovation. The COTS Control Program will continue to be informed and improved through the application of science-based innovation.
(e) The objective of the COTS Control Program is to protect coral on a network of high-value reefs throughout the GBRMP by suppressing COTS outbreaks to sustainable levels through strategically targeted culling and reef surveillance, to enable coral growth and recovery.
(f) Currently there are three activities that are critical for the effective delivery of the COTS Control Program – reef surveillance surveys (manta tow), COTS culling and coral health surveys (RHIS):
(i) Reef surveillance (manta tow) surveys are used to determine COTS abundance, identify aggregations and quantify coral cover. Manta tow surveys are critical to ensuring that cull effort is effectively and efficiently deployed to achieve optimal outbreak suppression and coral protection outcomes;
(ii) Culling of COTS that targets high density aggregations within a reef first; expanding to control the COTS population across the entire reef as aggregations are culled and numbers are reduced; and
(iii) Coral health surveys (currently using RHIS) to quantify and monitor coral health and cumulative pressures affecting coral status and trends.
(g) The COTS Control Program currently deploys a fleet of 6 to 7 large vessel platforms that support dive teams carrying out COTS surveillance, coral health surveys and targeted culling of COTS on 200-250 target reefs annually, spanning the entire GBRMP. The Reef Authority anticipates an overall program at or about this size.
(h) Each year contracted vessels are allocated specific target reefs through a structured prioritisation process (refer to COTS Control Program Annual Work Plan 2023/24: Appendix 6 to the RFT). Contractors develop a Program Schedule and Voyage Plan for Reef Authority approval prior to commencing on-water operations. On completion of each voyage, the Voyage Report and all culling/surveillance data is submitted within 5 and 3 business days (respectively).
(i) In 2022, the Reef Authority secured long-term investment to continue to deliver the COTS Control Program through to 30 June 2030.
(j) The COTS Control Program currently contracts vessels that provide approximately 240 on-water days annually, delivered across 20-24 voyages. Each vessel deploys dive teams of at least 6 divers, with a target delivery of a minimum of 3,840 diver hours annually.
(k) The Reef Authority expects that to maximise coral protection, Service 1 provisions will be a key component of the future COTS Control operations.
(l) To ensure effective and efficient COTS Control operations vessel platforms must:
(i) deliver consistent and safe operations while maximising activity days and dive hours annually;
(ii) have the capacity and operational flexibility to adapt to changing operational requirements, and efficiently deliver culling and reef surveillance services on target reefs across the Marine Park, as directed by the Reef Authority;
(iii) support Great Barrier Reef Traditional Owner groups (this includes TUMRA groups) in the surveillance of reefs and management of COTS outbreaks in Sea Country, by building capacity through increased participation in all levels of the COTS Control Program, including but not limited to, training in COTS culling and reef surveillance, and on-water operations management, program management and reporting;
(iv) have the capacity to adopt and deliver on-water COTS Control Activities based on the best available science through an adaptive management framework based on strong collaboration with the Program’s research partners; and
(v) continue to support research, technological development relating to COTS management, and broader protection to the reef which may include trialling new technologies, and the provision of a berth(s) for Reef Authority personnel, and research personnel, as requested by the Reef Authority.
All potential Tenders must familise themselves with the contents of the attached Request for Tender (RFT) documentation.
All potential Tenders must familise themselves with the contents of the attached Request for Tender (RFT) documentation . In particular potential Tenders must abide by the lodgement method, and lodgement date located in Item 1 RFT details Items 1- 16 on pages 2-5. Failure to abide by these requirements will result in the Request for Tender concerned, not being accepted by the Reef Authority to proceed any further in the procurement process.
All potential Tenders must familise themselves with the contents of the attached Request for Tender (RFT) documentation . Please refer to 1. RFT details Items 1- 16 on pages 2-5.