Contract

Investigation into the potential risk of entanglement of marine mammals with discarded fishing gear associated with floating offshore wind farms

  • Scottish Government

F03: Contract award notice

Notice identifier: 2024/S 000-040031

Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-048563

Published 12 December 2024, 9:49am



Section one: Contracting authority

one.1) Name and addresses

Scottish Government

Victoria Quay 1, Leith Docks

Edinburgh

EH6 6QQ

Email

marc.jones@gov.scot

Country

United Kingdom

NUTS code

UKM - Scotland

Internet address(es)

Main address

http://www.scotland.gov.uk

Buyer's address

https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA10482

one.2) Information about joint procurement

The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body

one.4) Type of the contracting authority

Ministry or any other national or federal authority

one.5) Main activity

General public services


Section two: Object

two.1) Scope of the procurement

two.1.1) Title

Investigation into the potential risk of entanglement of marine mammals with discarded fishing gear associated with floating offshore wind farms

Reference number

701072

two.1.2) Main CPV code

  • 90700000 - Environmental services

two.1.3) Type of contract

Services

two.1.4) Short description

The Offshore Wind Directorate invites a tender from a suitable contractor to define the risk of entanglement with discarded fishing gear around mooring lines at floating offshore wind farm (FOW) sites.

The Scottish Government has set a range of targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to generate more energy from renewable sources. The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2019 commits the Scottish Government to reach net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045.

Offshore wind will play a vital part in meeting these targets, and is set to expand substantially in Scotland over the next decade and beyond, as evident by the recent ScotWind seabed leasing round by the Crown Estate Scotland. In January 2021 and through its clearing process in August 2022, Crown Estate Scotland has offered Option Agreements for 20 offshore wind projects around Scotland totalling 27.6GW of potential new offshore wind developments. The related offshore wind Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) decarbonisation planning and leasing process outlined a further 5.4GW of projects.

This project will assess entanglement risk by using monitoring tools such as load cells, remote operated vehicles (ROV) and other tools to identify the snag rate of abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) on mooring lines of FOW developments. This will be coupled with modelling of density and distribution of ALDFG across Scottish shelf waters or estimation of snag rate at a given site based on data detailing potential sources, identified prevalence based on available data and oceanographic drift. Should substantial risk be identified, the project should also consider and suggest potential mitigation measures and any associated future research needs to deliver these.

This project will contribute to the overall process of the sustainable expansion of floating offshore wind in Scottish waters by improving the evidence base for environmental assessments and build on previous work seeking to establish the risk of entanglement.

two.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)

Value excluding VAT: £129,543.70

two.2) Description

two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)

  • 45262640 - Environmental improvement works
  • 71313400 - Environmental impact assessment for construction
  • 71313420 - Environmental standards for construction
  • 71313430 - Environmental indicators analysis for construction
  • 71313440 - Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) services for construction
  • 71313450 - Environmental monitoring for construction
  • 73110000 - Research services
  • 73112000 - Marine research services

two.2.3) Place of performance

NUTS codes
  • UKM - Scotland

two.2.4) Description of the procurement

The Offshore Wind Directorate invites a tender from a suitable contractor to define the risk of entanglement with discarded fishing gear around mooring lines at floating offshore wind farm (FOW) sites.

The Scottish Government has set a range of targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to generate more energy from renewable sources. The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2019 commits the Scottish Government to reach net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045.

Offshore wind will play a vital part in meeting these targets, and is set to expand substantially in Scotland over the next decade and beyond, as evident by the recent ScotWind seabed leasing round by the Crown Estate Scotland. In January 2021 and through its clearing process in August 2022, Crown Estate Scotland has offered Option Agreements for 20 offshore wind projects around Scotland totalling 27.6GW of potential new offshore wind developments. The related offshore wind Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) decarbonisation planning and leasing process outlined a further 5.4GW of projects.

It is Scottish Government policy to ensure that decisions are informed by the best available evidence and make reasonable effort to address any gaps in knowledge. There is a requirement on the marine licensing authority (Scottish Ministers) to have regard to the need to protect the environment as part of determining any marine licence.

Furthermore, the evaluation of potential interactions between renewables projects, marine wildlife and other users of the sea is required and forms part of plan and project level assessments. The assessments include Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA), Habitat Regulation Appraisals (HRA), Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and Social and Economic Impact Assessments.

The upcoming expansion of Offshore Wind in Scotland will include an increase in the scale of Floating Offshore Wind (FOW) developments due to sites being located in deeper waters. Given the relative youth of this technology, there is a paucity of empirical evidence to help inform environmental assessments of the potential impacts of these developments.

This project will assess entanglement risk by using monitoring tools such as load cells, remote operated vehicles (ROV) and other tools to identify the snag rate of abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) on mooring lines of FOW developments. This will be coupled with modelling of density and distribution of ALDFG across Scottish shelf waters or estimation of snag rate at a given site based on data detailing potential sources, identified prevalence based on available data and oceanographic drift. Should substantial risk be identified, the project should also consider and suggest potential mitigation measures and any associated future research needs to deliver these.

This project will contribute to the overall process of the sustainable expansion of floating offshore wind in Scottish waters by improving the evidence base for environmental assessments and build on previous work seeking to establish the risk of entanglement.

two.2.5) Award criteria

Quality criterion - Name: quality / Weighting: 70

Price - Weighting: 30

two.2.11) Information about options

Options: No

two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds

The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No


Section four. Procedure

four.1) Description

four.1.1) Type of procedure

Open procedure

four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes

four.2) Administrative information

four.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure

Notice number: 2024/S 000-023562


Section five. Award of contract

Contract No

701072

A contract/lot is awarded: Yes

five.2) Award of contract

five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract

18 November 2024

five.2.2) Information about tenders

Number of tenders received: 3

Number of tenders received from SMEs: 3

Number of tenders received from tenderers from other EU Member States: 0

Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 3

Number of tenders received by electronic means: 3

The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No

five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor

SAMS Applied Marine Science Enterprise Limited

ECMB , Dunbeg

Oban

PA37 1QA

Telephone

+44 1631559470

Country

United Kingdom

NUTS code
  • UKM63 - Lochaber, Skye & Lochalsh, Arran & Cumbrae and Argyll & Bute
The contractor is an SME

Yes

five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)

Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: £130,000

Total value of the contract/lot: £129,543.70

five.2.5) Information about subcontracting

The contract is likely to be subcontracted

Short description of the part of the contract to be subcontracted

Contribute to interim and final report. Support data management plan. Data analysis for Work Package 2.


Section six. Complementary information

six.3) Additional information

(SC Ref:785495)

six.4) Procedures for review

six.4.1) Review body

Edinburgh Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court

27 Chambers Street

Edinburgh

EH1 1LB

Country

United Kingdom