22TDRRSD904 - Lower Athabasca River Fish Health Monitoring

The Resource Stewardship Division (RSD) of Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) is responsible for providing credible scientific data and relevant information on the conditions of Alberta’s environment. The department’s mandate is to provide the timely and objective monitoring, evaluation and reporting of data and information on air, land, water and biodiversity, including information necessary to understand cumulative effects, in order to better inform the understanding of the public, policy makers, regulators, planners, researchers, communities, and industry.

AEP requires a contract to support the delivery of fish monitoring in the Lower Athabasca River adjacent to the Alberta Oil Sands. This will support the delivery of approved 2021-2022 Oil Sands Monitoring Work Plans. This contract entails the field component for the assessment of small and large-bodied fish health, and fish assemblages at multiple locations on the Lower Athabasca River between Fort McMurray and downstream of Fort MacKay. This work supports long-term monitoring and will inform on the baseline conditions of the river.

The purpose of this RFP is to establish a contract with a vender (commencing August 30th, 2021) who will co-lead with staff from AEP to support the delivery of the following program components:

- Component 1: Work with AEP to conduct fish inventory monitoring following Regional Aquatic Monitoring Program (RAMP) protocols.
- Component 2: Work with AEP to collect and process small-bodied fish health (trout-perch, 20 males/20 females) at 10 sites following Environmental Effects Monitoring guidance protocols.
- Component 3: Work with AEP to collect and process large-bodied fish health (white sucker, 20 males/20 females) at 5 sites following Environmental Effects Monitoring guidance protocols. A second large-bodied species (walleye, n=10) will also be collected for fish tissue sampling.
- Component 4: Data management and report. Submit all tabulated raw data in hard and electronic copies to AEP.
A detailed description of the services are outlined in Appendix B, including the resources required (staff, supplies, equipment), and the estimated number of field days.