U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, WASC, Acquisition Management Division WC3, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Bin C15700, Seattle, WA 98115-0070

19 -- PRE-SOLICITATION MEETING FOR SLOPE ROCKFISH SURVEY METHODOLOGY STUDY POC Linda Shaw (206) 526-6461 The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Fisheries Science Center, will hold a pre-solicitation meeting in Seattle, Washington, on February 10, 1998. The purpose of this meeting is to solicit information from the commercial fishing industry regarding the proposed contracting of a trawler for 16 days to conduct an experimental survey of slope rockfish near Kodiak Island, Alaska, in August, 1998. The experiment will involve fishing a NMFS supplied bottom trawl at various locations to evaluate a new survey methodology, "adaptive sampling". This survey may yield improved estimates of slope rockfish abundance. Major requirements for the charter vessel, which are preliminary and subject to change, are as follows: 1) must be a factory trawler rigged for bottom trawling, with a minimum registered length of 150 ft, and at least 1,500 horsepower; 2) be able to catch and process fish 24 hours a day for a period of 14 continuous days; 3) be able to accommodate as many as 10 scientists during the charter; and 4) be equipped with a conveyor belt flow scale or suitable alternative to accurately weigh the total catch of each haul. To defray the charter costs, the vessel will be allowed to retain and sell fish caught during the charter. Approximately 75% of the trawling effort will be directed toward Pacific ocean perch, and 25% toward shortraker/rougheye rockfish. Interested representatives of the commercial fishing industry, especially prospective contractors, are invited to attend this scoping meeting or submit comments in writing. The meeting will be held at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Building 4, Room 2079, 7600 Sand oint Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115, at 9:00AM on Tuesday, February 10, 1998. For more information, contact Daniel Ito at this address, or phone (206) 526-4231. Written comments can also be submitted at this address. (0007)

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