The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada requires the service to organize, coordinate and implement measures aimed at reducing accidental mortalities of marine mammals, rescuing marine mammals in difficulty and promoting the acquisition of knowledge from dead, stranded or endangered animals drifts in the waters of the St-Lawrence bordering Quebec. The supplier must support the operation of the Emergency Center for Marine Mammals (CUMM) which ensures the reception and processing of calls, ensures the follow-up of a file from the receipt of a report until the closure of the file. The supplier must have a mobile response team that is responsible for responding to incidents involving live animals (stowing, tracking, monitoring, relocation, release, euthanasia and entanglements) and dead animals (documentation, sampling, recovery and transport of carcasses). This service aims to ensure that all incidents involving dead or distressed marine animals in the province of Quebec are reported, particularly those involving species currently listed under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) This service also aims to improve communication and awareness among the general public regarding the conservation of marine animals and to securely collect scientific data to improve our understanding of these species. The objective of the work carried out under this contract is firstly to support (90%) the operation of the CUMM to report incidents involving marine animals to a toll-free telephone number; and secondly (10%) to coordinate and, where possible and safe, respond to the needs of marine animals in difficulty.
