July 26, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:
The Northeast Cooperative Research Program is pleased to announce that we have an open solicitation for our Study Fleet program! Quotes are due August 11, 2016.
We are looking for 10-15 boats in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast that fish with commercial trawl or fixed gear for monkfish, groundfish, Atlantic herring, Atlantic mackerel, long-finned squid and other mid-Atlantic commercial species, those with prior experience with electronic reporting software, and vessels interested in assisting with the development of electronic reporting systems for fixed gear deployment to provide long-term tow-by-tow data collection on catch and discards, ocean bottom temperatures, and to test developing real-time data transmission systems.
Vessels will need to supply a suitable laptop computer and dedicated GPS unit. All software necessary will be provided by the NCRP.
Full details and quote pages are in the attached RFQ, and some tips on the forms and contracting registration system is attached.