Through the Community Catch project, The Nature Conservancy is working with fishers, building partnerships and seeking to create markets and market pipelines for local sustainable seafood.

We are seeking a contractor who will conduct a review and market analysis of the current commercial fisheries along Washington’s Pacific Coast to identify potential opportunities to increase sustainable fish markets. Proposals due Sept. 4, 2019

If you are interested, please review the Request for Proposal (below) and respond as it asks.

FISHERIES MARKET ANALYSIS - RFP- Due Sept. 24

To prospective contractors:

The Nature Conservancy is soliciting proposals and bids for a Fisheries Market Analysis for Washington’s Coast as a part of the Community Catch project. Enclosed is a description of the Community Catch project, and the summary of the market analysis goals.

In order to be considered, each proposal and bid must contain:

1) All of the information requested below under “Response Format”

2) Bid form

3) Signed conflict of interest disclosure form

4) Signed confidentiality agreement

All proposals will be reviewed based only on the information submitted. Electronic submissions are required and can be submitted via email or uploaded directly to our FTP site (requests for instructions can be sent to garrett.dalan@tnc.org). Conflict of interest and compliance forms can be distributed upon request. This contract will be for the time period between September 2019 to April 2020 for $30,000 to $60,000. Additional questions or concerns can be directed to Garrett Dalan.

Proposals and bids must be received before 5:00 p.m. PDT on September 4, 2019.

Sincerely,

Garrett Dalan

Washington Coastal Community Relations Manager (206) 550-8423

I. Summary

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Washington believes that supporting local sustainable businesses is integral to achieving a healthy environment. Community Catch is a TNC project focused on working with fishers to develop sustainable fishing gear, creating markets for sustainably caught fish, and building partnerships and market pipelines to build a source of local sustainable seafood.

We are looking to hire a Contractor that will support TNC’s Community Catch project by conducting a review and market analysis of the current commercial fisheries along Washington’s Pacific Coast to identify potential opportunities to increase sustainable fish markets. We are looking to hire a Contractor that can bring rigorous methods to the process and produce a report to convey the results of the analysis.

To apply for this short-term contract, please submit a proposal on how you would spend up to $60,000 (minimum $30,000) to complete the fishery market review, analysis, and report. Please include specifics on your proposed methods and a detailed budget breakdown. Details on deliverables required are listed below.

Deliverables:

The market analysis report should include: background information on Washington’s fisheries, an introduction to Washington fisheries markets, the market status of each fishery, a description of issues that each market faces, and an inventory of all available data related to fishery markets. In addition to the market analysis, the contractor should expect to meet with TNC’s team and stakeholders 2-3 times over the contracting period.

The draft and final reports should include information covering the following sections and organized according to the outline provided below:

1. Background

2. Introduction to the market

a. Definition and geographic location of the market

b. General history, trends, and opportunities in the market

c. Summary of key issues

3. Landings and Values – This should be for all species by species.

4. Ground Fish (exclude whiting) Market Status (including values and value chains, supply chains, production, jobs) on local, regional, and national scales. Please including the following information:

a. The range of fishing activities along Washington’s Pacific Coast (e.g. target species, type of activities, kinds of cargo/vessels, products)

b. Statistics (e.g. value chains, dock price, production/volume, direct/indirect jobs, direct/indirect value)

i. Include comparisons of each fisheries market and by landing port if appropriate.

ii. Include comparisons to region, where applicable.

iii. Utilize pounds and dollars as units when appropriate.

c. Existing policies and laws related to each sector

5. Issues Facing the Fisheries Market

a. Identify short and long-term issues relating to the market (e.g. environmental issues, workforce, funding, infrastructure, management/regulatory requirements, social issues, etc.)

b. Summarize factors that determine the current and future trends in each sector.

6. Inventory of Available Data

a. Identify existing data sources.

b. Identify major data accuracy issues in existing data.

c. Identify key economic questions related to sustainable fisheries and data gaps in answering those questions.

7. Summary of meetings and conversations that informed the report.

8. Provide Recommendations based on Market Analysis findings. These recommendations should include but are not limited to the identification of fishery markets that have the most value gain for Washington’s Pacific Coastal Communities.

For all pieces of the report, please prioritize and provide an in depth focus on the local market scale.

II. Background of Project & Washington Coast

About the Pacific Coast:

Washington’s Pacific Coast has one of the largest fisheries markets in the region. However, some fisheries markets face reduced landings and availability as well as low dock prices for local fishermen. Coastal communities also face limited access to fresh and affordable fish. For this project, Washington’s Pacific Coast communities are defined as that west of Cathlamet, WA to Port Angeles, WA.

About Community Catch:

Community Catch is funded by a NOAA Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant, which “funds projects that address the needs of fishing communities, optimize economic benefits by building and maintaining sustainable fisheries, and increase other opportunities to keep working waterfronts viable.” The Community Catch project began by researching sustainable methods to catch lingcod (a fish with sustainable populations along the Washington coast) without the bycatch of threatened species like rockfish. Over time, the project has evolved from working with fishers to develop new fishing gear to testing potential markets for sustainably caught to promote local fisheries market along Washington’s Pacific Coast.

Goals & Expectations behind the Market Analysis

The purpose of the market analysis will be to understand Washington’s Pacific Coast fisheries market and identify if there is potential to expand into additional sustainable opportunities. Typically, fisheries markets in Washington focuses around salmon, Dungeness crab, and other high profiled and demand fish, but this market analysis aims to focus on other markets to identify tangible gains for the coastal communities. This market analysis should include information such as the current status of the fisheries markets, dock prices, value chains, and trends of the markets; major current and future issues, including potential conflicts, and future needs; and potential recommendations of sustainable fishery markets.

Throughout this project, the prioritized market should be in the following order: local, regional, and national. The local scale would include markets for Washington’s Pacific coastal communities through outlets such as restaurants and grocery shops. Regional markets should include communities outside but nearby Washington’s Pacific Coast communities and have access to fresh seafood delivery options from Washington’s Pacific Coast. Cities such as Seattle, WA, Olympia, WA, and Portland, OR would fall under the regional market scale. National markets include any communities and areas outside of the regional market scale.

Once the market analysis is completed and dependent on the results and findings, TNC’s goal is to provide and share this information with Washington’s Pacific Coastal communities. TNC hopes to connect local fishermen, restaurants, educational institutes, and grocers with the market analysis results to build interest in new fishery market streams. Ideally, this analysis will support local and indigenous fishermen by increasing job pay and opportunities, community access to fresh fish at a lower cost, and overall, a more localized fisheries food system.

Market Chain

As part of the market analysis, the market chain analysis should focus on post catch (or landing) to when the fish leaves/exported from the region. As mentioned in the previous section, this project’s priority interest is primarily local markets constrained to Washington’s Pacific Coast. Market analyses for market streams beyond regional markets should not be prioritized.

Pounds and dollars are reasonable units to follow along the market chain.

Insights such as value-added and costs of input at each step of the market chain are of interest for this analysis. An example of this would be the cost to cook a fish (cost of input) and the value-added to the fish once it is cooked (value-added).

III. Response Format & Evaluation Criteria

Submissions should be no longer than 5 pages, not including resumes, project descriptions, or other appendices. Electronic submissions are required. Responses should, at a minimum, include the following sections:

Company name, address, phone and fax number, and Federal Employer Tax Identification number or Social Security number and Washington UBI number
Company and proposed team structure, including name of person serving as primary contact for this proposal and any proposed subcontractors
Project staff qualifications and experience on similar projects
Three relevant prior project descriptions with references that can attest to their satisfaction
Outline of proposed approach to perform project work
Proposed schedule for performance of project
Itemized bid for project as described in “Bid form” section
Availability to commence performance of work

All proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. Quality of the proposal and work plan

2. Qualifications of team:

Ability of team to address all project objectives.
Knowledge of the following sectors: fishing, economics, and local food systems.
Experience in market analysis.
Experience with coordinating with diverse individuals and interests, while assessing and reporting information in an objective manner. Maintaining neutrality and objectivity on projects.

3. Evidence of prior client satisfaction on tiemliness, compliance with contract performance, regulations and specifications.

4. Evidence of attention to cost efficiency

5. Availability to begin work quickly and to complete the final deliverables by the preferred date of April 1st, 2020 (May 1st, 2020 at the very latest to ensure final payment).

IV. Project Bid Format

Proposals for the Community Catch Market Analysis must include following information:

Estimated cost of each market analysis process
A schedule of the hourly rates for each member of the proposed project staff
A cost reimbursement schedule, including an explanation of any overhead or other costs to be charged as part of the project
Itemization of costs for each of the elements above by personnel, supplies, travel, materials, contractual and other expenses as appropriate