Tender: Processing and Identification of 33 Macrofaunal Sediment Samples – Falmouth Disposal Site Monitoring

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Cefas is seeking a supplier for processing and identifying 33 macrofaunal sediment samples collected from the Falmouth dredged material disposal site. The work requires extraction and identification of all biota retained on a 1.0 mm capture mesh in accordance with NMBAQC extraction and identification protocols; samples were collected in July 2026 aboard RV Cefas Endeavour using a 0.1 m² mini Hamon grab (three replicates from 11 stations) and were preserved in ~5% buffered formaldehyde with internal and external labels. The supplier must enumerate, identify and biomass organisms to the lowest possible taxonomic level per the NMBAQC Processing Requirement and Taxonomic Discrimination Protocols, provide wet-weight biomass in grams to at least four decimal places, ensure balances are serviced annually with a valid service certificate supplied, and return a single reference collection to Cefas Lowestoft in an appropriate preservation liquid along with an electronic list of taxa (highlighting notable and non-native records). Non-native species records must be added to the Non-native Species Information Portal (NNSIP). All species names must be checked using the WoRMS ‘Match Taxa’ tool before submission; abundance and biomass matrices must be audited under the NMBAQC Own Samples protocol (three samples subject to independent QA and the full dataset quality assured) and submitted by email. Deliverables include externally audited abundance and biomass matrices, the reference collection, internal QC logs, an audited QC report, and weekly project summaries. Key deadlines are primary analysis by end November 2026, fully AQC’d data by end December 2026, and the reference collection returned by end January 2027; samples are available for collection from Lowestoft storage as soon as possible after contract signature with transport costs to be included in the tender pricing.