Marine Mammal Veterinary Services

STATEMENT OF WORK Marine Mammal Veterinary Services for NOAA NMFS PIRO I. Purpose The purpose of this procurement is to provide professional veterinary services for marine mammal cases managed and/or authorized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO). II. Background and Statement of Need PIRO manages the main Hawaiian Islands Marine Mammal Response Network (MMRN). The central purpose of the MMRN is to build and maintain capacity for effective, efficient, humane, and legally compliant response to Hawaiian monk seal and cetacean (whale and dolphin) strandings and other incidents. PIRO manages the MMRN under authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA). The MMRN is managed in partnership with the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources pursuant to an ESA Section 6 Cooperative Agreement, MOU for Co-Management of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, and other authorities. Hawaiian monk seals are one of the world's most endangered marine mammals. Although the overall population is declining, driven by a sharp decline in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the monk seal population in the main Hawaiian Islands is growing. Recent surveys suggest that at least 150 seals now occupy the main Hawaiian Islands. While this increase raises promising new prospects for the species' recovery, it also poses new management challenges. For example, monk seals haul out and give birth on popular recreational beaches where they are subject to unintentional disturbance by beach goers and ocean users. Seals also haul-out on boat ramps and other shoreline locations requiring rapid and effective management response. Seals are also subject to hookings and entanglement in fishing gear in the main Hawaiian Islands. Monk Seals occasionally have to be brought into rehabilitative care under the direction of a marine mammal veterinarian. PIRO's MMRN is responsible for managing responses to these and other types of Hawaiian monk seal incidents. Successful management of Hawaiian monk seal incidents occasionally requires the support of a veterinarian(s) with expertise in marine mammals. PIRO's MMRN is also responsible for cetacean stranding response in Hawaii. Cetaceans usually strand in Hawaii due to natural causes such as old age, disease, and predation. Cetaceans also become entangled in nets, derelict fishing gear, and other marine debris such as plastics. Cetaceans are also known to swallow plastics and collide with vessels. The MMRN is responsible for responding to all of these types of incidents. Like monk seal response, cetacean stranding response varies from simple responses, to major operations involving multiple staff and heavy equipment, such as pulling and 40-ton sperm whale carcass off rocky shoreline, conducting a necropsy, and disposing of the carcass. As with Hawaiian monk seal response, successful management of cetacean response occasionally requires the support of a veterinarian(s) with expertise in marine mammals. Professional marine mammal veterinary services may be required by PIRO in the case of superficial injuries, and are almost always required in the case of more serious injury or disease. MMRN responses to monk seals or cetaceans that require veterinary services can vary widely in complexity from superficial injuries that can be resolved through intervention on the beach, to cases of serious injury or disease that require intensive, long-term treatment in a captive care facility. The MMRN in the main Hawaiian Islands relies heavily on the support of volunteers drawn from island communities. Volunteer response network members are managed by PIRO-authorized Island Coordinators who report to the Marine Mammal Health and Response Program Manager and Assistant Stranding Coordinator. Depending on the circumstances, a contract veterinarian(s) is often needed to work closely with PIRO-designated staff and volunteers during marine mammal response and treatment cases. III. Scope of Work NOAA NMFS PIRO requires the services of a contract veterinarian to provide veterinary services for marine mammals in the Pacific Islands region. The Contractor shall provide veterinary care for sick and/or injured Hawaiian monk seals and cetaceans. The Contractor shall work with PIRO staff and volunteers to ensure animal health and welfare during responses to strandings and other incidents, and during captures, transports, and captive care of marine mammals. The Contractor shall provide veterinary services as deemed necessary and appropriate by his/her professional judgment and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. While providing these services, the Contractor shall maintain close coordination and communication with the designated PIRO contact to ensure consistency with NMFS policies and compliance with any applicable ESA-MMPA permit(s). The Contractor shall provide these services in field and captive care situations that are often subject to close public attention and considered to be controversial by some members of the public. Work shall be conducted in the main Hawaiian Islands. The Contractor shall be available to provide the services on the island of Oahu at any time during the period of performance on an on-call basis. The Contractor shall be responsible for covering all costs associated with travel for four separate 2-day/1-night trips to other islands within the main Hawaiian Islands. The Contractor will be paid a monthly fee to maintain on-call availability and to cover costs for email and telephone consulting, research and report writing. In addition to the monthly fee, the Contractor will be paid an hourly rate for veterinary services provided in the field at standings and other incident responses, and for services provided at captive care locations. The contract will be awarded for a total of 90 hours of services over a nine month (270 day) period of performance (average 10 hours per month). The Contractor shall serve as the "Veterinarian of Record" for PIRO as needed for the procurement of medications and other supplies and procedures by PIRO and/or other MMRN partners. Tasks - the Contractor shall: 1. Provide veterinary services for marine mammal strandings and other marine mammal incident responses in the field, including: - Conduct on-scene emergency veterinary care (handling, restraint, examination, drug administration, treatment, sampling, etc.) for injured, sick or potentially compromised marine mammals - Complete and submit to PIRO in a timely manner NMFS marine mammal health and stranding response program data and reporting forms - Prepare and submit to PIRO in a timely manner detailed after-incident reports regarding the Contractor's participation of the stranding or incident response. The reports will describe the veterinary services provided and present findings and recommendations related to the incident - Conduct and/or participate in necropsies of dead marine mammals and prepare and submit in a timely manner detailed necropsy reports that include analysis and findings regarding cause of death - Provide advice to PIRO on appropriate testing of samples - Provide advice to PIRO staff in stocking and maintenance of "crash kits" for various types of marine mammal strandings and incident responses 2. Provide animal husbandry and veterinary health care and consulting for sick and/or injured marine mammals in captive care situations, including: - Conduct emergency and routine care (handling, restraint, examination, drug administration, treatment, sampling, etc.) for marine mammals in captive care situations - Advise PIRO on medical treatment and daily care - advice may be provided remotely if physical examination is not necessary - Hands-on training of MMRN members and volunteers in animal handling, behavior monitoring, and feeding techniques - Provide veterinary oversight of husbandry efforts 3. Provide veterinary consultations in-person, via telephone or email regarding new and existing marine mammal veterinary cases, and provide advice on marine mammal response protocols and procedures related to animal health and welfare