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Pollock Conservation Cooperative Research Center

Announcement of Availability of Funds for 2012

PROPOSALS DUE: Wednesday, October 26, 2011 by 5:00 pm AST

    • 2012_PCCRC_RFP
    • 2012_PCCRC_Marine_Research_Fellowships_RFP

The Pollock Conservation Cooperative Research Center (PCC Research Center or PCCRC) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks announces an opportunity for funding of marine research in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. Proposals, including one original with all required institutional signatures, and an electronic file, must be received by 5:00 pm AST, October 26, 2011.

Send the electronic format proposal (MS Word or PDF) to:

Dean Michael Castellini
PCCRC@sfos.uaf.edu

or, with proposal hard copy to:

Pollock Conservation Cooperative Research Center
Attn: Dr. Michael Castellini, Dean
School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
University of Alaska Fairbanks
P. O. Box 757220
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220

Submitters will be notified upon receipt of proposals. Start date of the proposal is to be set no earlier than April 1, 2012. Awarding will be made on a yearly basis but faculty are encouraged to submit a multi-year budget based on project needs. Award decisions will be made by February 15, 2012.

Funding for the PCC Research Center is provided by members of the Pollock Conservation Cooperative (PCC), a fishing cooperative of companies that operate catcher/processors in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands pollock fishery.

For the 2012 funding cycle, the Center has a total of up to $500,000 available for all funded projects. No maximum amount per project has been identified and no approximate, minimum or maximum number of funded projects has been decided.

The PCC Research Center was established in February 2000 and seeks to improve knowledge about the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea through research and education, relevant to the commercial fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. The Center continues to be interested in research in pollock dynamics, marine mammals, and fisheries interaction with ESA species.

The Center provides:

  1. grants to faculty and research stipends to graduate students for research on pollock, other groundfish species, the fisheries for these species, and on marine mammals;
  2. funding for marine education, technical training, and equipment; and
  3. funding for research in the area of marine resource economics.

While proposals in any of the above areas will be accepted, the PCC Research Center annually identifies subjects of particular interest and gives the highest consideration to proposals within these areas.

PCCRC Research Priorities for 2012

For the 2012 funding cycle, the PCC Research Center is especially interested in trying to improve knowledge through research and education in the following subject areas:

  1. Incidental Species Caught in Groundfish Fisheries, in order of priority:

      Halibut
      Salmon
      Shark
      Octopus
    1. Growth and maturity – recent information indicates that size at age for mature halibut has changed. There is a need to understand the potential causes, the potential effects on reproductive output, and the ramifications of current harvest strategy policies.
    2. Carrying capacity of the Bering Sea – understanding the impact Asian hatchery chum salmon have on the carrying capacity of the Bering Sea is important in upcoming salmon bycatch management strategies. A synthesis of work previously done may be the first step to identify gaps in the research and improved understanding.
    3. Stock assessment – there is a need to improve biological data collection (e.g., age, size, maturity and sex) of some incidental catch species, (e.g., sharks, skates, octopus, squid, sculpins and grenadiers) to better quantify the potential effects on these stocks, including improved understanding and estimates of discard mortality.
    4. Gear technology – further research, including a literature search, is needed on technology, gear modifications and fishing practices for minimizing incidental catch, particularly of PSC species in the Alaska pollock fishery.
  2. Habitat

    1. Proposals to assist in the evaluation of impacts of climate change to the Bering Sea seafloor, such as benthic feeding by marine mammals, and intense wave actions and natural restorative processes associated with them.
    2. Begin to develop a GIS relational database for habitat, including development of a historical time series of spatial intensity of interactions between commercial fisheries and habitat, which will be needed to evaluate impacts of changes in Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) on the growth, reproduction and distribution of fish and shellfish.
    3. Assess the extent of the distribution of skate egg case sites in the Bering Sea.
  3. Northern Fur Seals

      The sustainability of northern fur seals and identification of factors influencing their population dynamics, especially in the Pribilof Islands and Bogoslof Island, and especially a literature review of studies assessing environmental conditions and other factors that may be affecting northern fur seals in the North Pacific.
  4. Factors Influencing the Sustainability of Steller Sea Lion Populations

    5. PCCRC is interested in collaborating with other entities and agencies undertaking studies in this topic area, including the North Pacific Research Board and the National Marine Fisheries Service, by providing supplemental funding to University of Alaska researchers to participate in those studies, with a particular interest in the following questions:

    1. There is a need for studies of localized interaction between fisheries and protected species. Studies of interactions between Steller Sea Lions and commercial fisheries are needed in the Central and Western Aleutians, with an emphasis on seasonal prey fields, diet and movement of sea lions and their prey. These studies should be conducted at appropriate spatial and temporal scales.
    2. Foraging ecology studies of SSL in the Western and Central Aleutians. Specifically, this research would include at-sea tracking of adult females and juveniles, and collecting SSL scat and spew. Supplemental research could include stable isotope analyses, fatty acid analysis, contaminant studies, monitoring condition and health indices, and photogrammetric work.
    3. Studies to assess vital rates (i.e., reproduction and survival) of SSL in the Western and Central Aleutians. Specifically, this would require longitudinal studies (i.e., branding of pups to determine rates of age- or size-class specific survival) as well as studies to help evaluate the reproductive performance of adult females and natality, including comparative surveys throughout the Western Distinct Population Segments.
    4. Studies investigating advancements in methods to estimate sea lion abundance, such as the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, that would increase the probability of acquiring abundance estimates in remote areas.
    5. Studies to quantify killer whale predation of SSL's, particularly in the Western and Central Aleutian Islands.
  5. Alaska Pollock Stock Dynamics and Condition


    General environmental factors affecting pollock stocks, including but not limited to:

    1. the impacts of climate change on stock abundance and distribution
    2. the relationship of primary and secondary production levels to pollock recruitment
    3. temperature changes as they relate to pollock roe maturation
    4. predation impacts on pollock
    5. study of feeding and the condition of pollock, understanding pollock fatty acid profiles both temporally and spatially.
  6. Resource Utilization

    1. Work conducted on fish oil, roe, milt, fillets and fishmeal has characterized the freshness of these products using a baseline when they were collected at a shore plant. However, at-sea processors recognize additional value in a variety of products harvested and processed at sea. What are the additional benefits of very fresh fish processing, or stated another way, what post-mortem changes in fish occur that cause a loss in value? How can we understand quality and create value through a better definition of fish freshness?
    2. An important component of understanding value is clarity of the nutritional composition of pollock products. A comprehensive dataset is desired for all food products generated in the pollock fishery (surimi, roe, milt, fillets) that encompasses vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids, with allowance for seasonal changes, so that nutritional values of wild fish can be more accurately portrayed.
    3. Research into alternative antioxidants for use in fishmeal. The industry standard continues to be ethoxyquin. There is a need for alternative antioxidants that are cost effective and would allow expansion into new markets for fishmeal.
    4. Better technology may be available for identification of foreign materials, particularly in whitefish fillet block products. There is a need for a third-party assessment of new, improved and cost effective technologies.
  7. Market Dynamics and Competitiveness


      Russian Pollock Production and Product Distribution

      Accurate, up-to-date information on the production and distribution of Russian pollock in global markets is lacking and difficult to obtain. There is a need for research into current production and product forms and their distribution in both the domestic Russian market and key markets around the world, as compared to the same for pollock caught off Alaska.

  8. K-12 Curriculum Development


      Responsible resource extraction education appears to be lacking in most curricula. Alaska Resource Education is an organization that provides kits to help teachers teach a curriculum that is developed in partnership with the State of Alaska's Department of Education and industry, The seafood industry is not currently included. There is a need for a draft curriculum to be developed for potential use by the PCC in this program. See www.akresource.org.

Proposal Review Process

Proposals to the Center will be peer reviewed, then prioritized by a seven-member Advisory Board, which is comprised of three members representing the PCC, one member representing fisheries management agencies, and three members representing the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Proposers may be asked to respond in writing to written questions from the Advisory Board as part of the selection process. The Dean of the UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences reviews the PCC Research Center Advisory Board recommendations and selects the projects to be funded. The PCC Research Center welcomes projects with funding from multiple sources.

Program Reporting Requirements

Annual progress reports and a final report will be required of all projects, in electronic format, in MS Word and PDF. Final reports must be accepted by the Dean of the UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences and must be submitted no less than 15 days prior to the end of the project (via email or hardcopy address above).

All principal investigators will be required to present research updates at a January PCC Research Center Advisory Board meeting in Alaska. PI's may also be asked to present reports at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium held in Anchorage concurrently with the Advisory Board meeting. Failure to meet reporting requirements in a timely manner may result in withheld reimbursements.

The required standardized format for the final report and acknowledgements is available on the PCCRC website. The report format will include statements regarding future work or next steps. A thesis written as a result of the project research is not acceptable as a final report.

Proposal Content

One principal investigator on each project must be a faculty member or staff member of the University of Alaska, who must participate significantly in the project. Proposals must be submitted through the University of Alaska. Proposals are limited to 15 pages with 1-inch margins (minimum) and type size no smaller than 10 point. All sections listed below except References, Cover, and CVs (and figures) are to be included in the 15-page limit:

    Cover with Original Signatures

    Abstract

    Background and relevance to research

    priorities

    Objectives/Hypotheses

    Methods/Analyses

    References

    Timeline including work schedule and reporting deadlines

    Short description of results of previous work funded by the PCCRC

    Curriculum vitae for each principal investigator (limited to 2 pages each)

    Budget justification/summary

    Budget including personnel, travel (include costs for annual presentations), services, supplies, equipment (items above $5000), graduate tuition, and sub-awards.

    NOTE: All sub-awards to UAF need to provide:

    1. Budget and budget justification
    2. Statement of work
    3. Letter from organization's AOR (not investigator) acknowledging commitment to the project.

    List of other funding sources to which the proposer has submitted the proposed project.

    Names and email addresses of three potential reviewers.

Special Considerations:

• PCC Research Center awards cannot support indirect (F&A) costs.

• PCC Research Center awards are contingent upon evidence of UAF Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) authorization or Human Subjects Application (IRB) approval where appropriate.

For further information about this request for proposals, please contact Michael Castellini at the UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at 907-474-7210, or

    PCCRC@sfos.uaf.edu or


Pollock Conservation Cooperative Research Center
Attn: Dr. Michael Castellini, Dean
School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
University of Alaska Fairbanks
P.O. Box 757220
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220

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