France - Marine megafauna overflights in French Polynesia (REMMOA)

Description

The purpose of this contract is to carry out aerial surveys within the EEZ of French Polynesia. During these overflights, visual observations will be made of marine mammals, seabirds, other marine megafauna (turtles, rays, sharks, etc.) and signs of human activity (maritime traffic and floating waste), from the coast to around 100 nautical miles offshore.
To this end, we are expected to supply suitable airborne resources, as well as all the aeronautical logistics required for the campaign, including the provision and coordination of experienced pilots, authorization applications, maintenance organization, and the equipment needed to take on board observers. The design of the sampling plan (transect) and the acquisition of the observations themselves are not part of the contract.

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General presentation
1. UAR 3462 - Pelagis Observatory - La Rochelle University and CNRS
The Pelagis Observatory (UAR 3462) is a joint unit of LRU and CNRS, structured around three missions:
- research into the ecology and conservation of marine mammals ;
- assessment of the status of populations and the impact of pressures through the collection and long-term banking of data and tissues and ;
- supporting public conservation policies through its expertise.
As part of these missions, the UAR 3462 Observatoire Pelagis coordinates or participates in numerous marine megafauna census campaigns on a local, national or international scale. These systematic visual observation campaigns make it possible to monitor the distribution and estimate the abundance of species using a standardized protocol. Such monitoring is often the cornerstone of knowledge required to implement public marine policies in offshore waters.

2. Project background :
REMMOA's campaigns aim to produce an almost instantaneous inventory of the distribution and abundance of marine mammals and birds, sea turtles, rays and sharks, and large pelagic fish visible at the surface, in order to be able to monitor the conservation status of these populations in the future. They also make it possible to identify habitats associated with human activities (fishing, maritime traffic, waste) can also be assessed. These campaigns are all the more important as they were the first of their kind to be carried out on this scale in most of the French overseas territories during Cycle I (2008-2015).
The first cycle covered several major regions: Antilles-Guyane (2008), South-West Indian Ocean (2009-2010), French Polynesia (2010-2011), New Caledonia with Wallis and Futuna (2014-2015). Nearly 4 million km2 were covered during this first cycle, with almost 80,000 observations recorded. The data acquired has enabled us to establish an initial overview of the diversity, distribution and abundance of marine megafauna, and has been used to support or create areas of interest and marine protected areas, such as the AGOA sanctuary, the Coral Sea marine nature park, the identification by the IUCN of IMMAs (Important Marine Mammal Areas), or to contribute to the Marquesas Islands' application for UNESCO World Heritage status.

3. General methodology :
For over 20 years, the UAR 3462 Observatoire Pelagis has been conducting aerial campaigns dedicated to the census of marine megafauna by visual observation. Aerial observation enables us to cover vast areas rapidly, while optimizing observation conditions, and is particularly well suited to monitoring mobile species. These campaigns produce spatialized data on pelagic fauna, with standardized acquisition and analysis. The multi-target protocol and the acquisition and analysis tools developed by the observatory are also applied today by numerous European scientific organizations and consultancies.
The general methodology is based on visual observation along pre-established linear transects. These observations are made by two observers positioned on either side of the aircraft, facing bubble windows offering a visual field devoid of any structural elements that might hinder detection beneath the aircraft. Both observers communicate with a navigator who enters the data in flight and monitors the flight's progress with the pilot. Depending on the taxa, two types of sampling are carried out: strip transect sampling for the most abundant categories o angle measurement for each observation to estimate the distance to the transect (distance sampling). Birds, fishing buoys and litter are surveyed within a strip of 200m on either side of the transect (500m for ship observations). For other taxa (cetaceans, elasmobranchs, turtles and large pelagic fish), an angle is measured using an inclinometer. These two methods enable us to produce spatial distribution data and estimate relative densities, together with a confidence interval. A constant speed of 90 knots and an altitude of 600 feet, based on protocols adapted to small cetaceans, must be maintained during observation legacies.

4. Study area and sampling plan :
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The 5 Polynesian archipelagos are concerned: the Australes, the Société, the Tuamotu, the Gambier and the Marquises: referred to here as the sectors. Due to its size, the Tuamotu archipelago is divided into three sub-sectors: north-west, north-east and south.
Within each sector, overflights follow a stratified sampling plan based on distance from the coast and major habitat types (island slope, oceanic): the strata.
The volume of HDVs is broken down into these sectors and strata (AUS, SOC, TUANO, TUANE, TUAS, GAM, MAR). The breakdown of flight hours by sector and stratum is shown in Table 1, i.e. the planned observation effort (HDV effort) and an estimate of the total number of HDVs (including transits to work areas, but not including the setting up of advisories on bases).
In total, the number of flight hours of observation effort is approximately 225 HDV. Taking into account transit flight hours between bases on the ground and work areas at sea, the estimate rises to around 300 HDV. Details are given in Table 1.
The VFR estimates do not take into account the installation of aircraft on ground bases (so-called "accommodation" bases) at the start of the campaign, or for each change of sector and therefore of ground bases during the campaign.
The choice of "accommodation" and "refuelling" bases has not yet been consolidated. However, a number of bases have been put forward for their logistical ease, particularly in terms of aeronautical facilities: Raiatea, Tubuai, Hao, Fakarava and Hiva Hoa.
This list of ground bases may evolve according to the information provided by the companies commissioned to provide technical support for the organization and supervision of this campaign.
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The sampling plan (transects) for each sector is drawn up by UAR 3462. It will be supplied to the pilots in advance of the campaign, in digital format, type .XLS, .GPX and .KMZ (in italics) with the GPS Latitude x Longitude coordinates of the transect start and end points. However, two months before the start of the campaign, the service provider must inform UAR 3462 of any areas subject to aeronautical regulations (notably military zones) which may affect the sampling plan within the sectors defined in this CCP. The sampling plan is the responsibility of the mission leader appointed by UAR 3462.
In the light of experience acquired during previous campaigns, it has been decided to set up the operation with a minimum of two aircraft, in order to embark two teams of observers, for a campaign lasting 90 days. The service provider's bid must clearly specify whether the aircraft are from its own fleet or chartered from one or more French or foreign subcontractors. Bids for aircraft based locally, in French Polynesia or in the Pacific region, will be prioritized so as to minimize the environmental impact of the campaign.

The tender includes two optional tranches:
- The first optional tranche enables the applicant to propose a technical solution to increase the required minimum autonomy (of 4.5 h available for aerial work), such as the installation of additional tank(s) complying with standards or the use of an aircraft with greater autonomy, particularly for coverage of isolated sectors (sectors where alternate airports are few and far between), but also to optimize the use of short weather windows and thus reduce "lost" transit times.
- The second optional tranche enables the bidder to propose a high-definition digital acquisition solution with an on-board system for simultaneous observers.

5. Observations, operational and scientific supervision :
Collecting observations is not part of the contract. Observations are carried out by on-board observers appointed by LRU.
The in-flight observation teams are coordinated by a mission leader and are each made up of a team leader and three observers. They will be provided directly by LRU 3462. A mission leader will also be made available by UAR 3462 to ensure overall coordination.
Team leaders will be present during observation flights. They will be in charge of coordinating flights (monitoring weather forecasts), coordinating pilots and observers during flights, and validating and preparing data sets to be entered into the database for analysis.
A team of four scientific personnel is mobilized for each aircraft during the mission. Depending on the duration of the flights, the on-board teams are made up of three or four observers (at least two as observers and one as navigator, with rotations during the flight). Each aircraft must be able to operate two flights in a single day.
The observation teams are coordinated by a mission leader, who will play the role of one of the two team leaders, depending on the needs of the campaign, but will above all act as the interface between the aeronautical teams, the logistician, the French Biodiversity Office and the DIREN Polynésie, as well as liaising with other technical, institutional and political partners based locally. If necessary, the mission leader will consult and arbitrate on the choices and redeployment strategies to be implemented, depending on the progress of the sampling plan and constraints.

Opportunity closing date

04 March 2025

Value of contract

to be confirmed