CLOSED: Bering Sea Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Economic Data Report Data Validation RFP

Submission deadline passed.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council developed the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Crab Rationalization Program over a 6-year period to accommodate the specific dynamics and needs of the BSAI crab fisheries. The BSAI Crab Rationalization Program is comprised of a number of novel aspects, and the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council (Council) is interested in ensuring that it will be able to adequately assess the impact of the Program and future management changes on affected parties. Therefore, the Council specified that a mandatory economic data collection program be developed to provide employment, cost, and sales data necessary to understand the economic performance of harvesters and processors participating in BSAI crab fisheries. Annual Economic data reports (EDRs) that collect quantitative financial information about harvesters’ and processors’ crab operations were specifically developed for the crab fisheries. Completion and submission of EDR forms are required as a condition of permit renewal and continued participation in the crab fishery since the program was implemented in 2005.

In order to ensure that the data submitted by respondents in the EDRs is accurate, the Council has specified that data reported in EDR forms be subject to verification, including audits of related company records. Validation protocols developed over the first five years of data collection involves reviewing the data contained within submitted EDRs, conducting random audits for a certain percentage of submitted EDRs, and conducting verification audits for those EDRs containing anomalous or outlier data values. In this RFP we are seeking your ideas on what it would cost to complete the validation audit process, implementing or improving the validation protocols developed for EDR data to date.

The Council has specified that the EDR data collection and management be administered by a third party, the Pacific State Marine Fish Commission (PSMFC), rather than National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) or the State of Alaska. Therefore, PSMFC is soliciting proposals for a review and verification protocol, and to carry out audits for the 2010 EDRs. A review committee coordinated by PSMFC will review proposals and make a selection. Any individuals or entities that are members of the review committee and who also submit proposals or who may directly benefit from a proposal must recuse themselves from the review process.

Original posting date: 2.4.2011