The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has gone out to tender with a £40 million contract to increase the control, monitoring and surveillance of all sea fishing activity around the coast.
Defra is seeking to charter offshore marine patrol vessels to support Marine Management Organisation operations - the MMO is the non-departmental public body coordinating an enforcement programme for monitoring, control and surveillance of all sea fishing activity around the coast, including the inspection of fishing vessels at sea.
The tender, which was issued on 13th December, says the MMO now requires “an increase in marine surveillance to monitor, control and enforce sustainable fishing practices.”
The MMO are looking to put a framework agreement in place with an operator or operators to conduct marine surveillance, monitoring and patrol of waters in the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). EEZs are sea zones prescribed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea over which a state has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources.
The framework agreement is also intended to “facilitate the boarding of other vessels by the MMO's Marine Enforcement Officers (MEOs) whilst also providing a physical deterrent presence”, the tender document says.
The agreement, which could be awarded to a single or multiple operators,will run for up to four years - an initial period of 12 months with 3 further optional 12 month extensions.
The MMO is looking to appoint up to five suppliers to the framework. Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate is 11th January – click here to access the tender documentation.
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