The Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) announces a Request for Proposals (RFP) for services to collect and analyze tissue from targeted sport fishes of legal consumption size for cyanotoxins and mercury within Lake Champlain. The successful applicant will collect and analyze tissue samples from yellow perch, white perch, walleye, smallmouth bass, and lake trout for mercury analysis and from appropriate selected species for cyanotoxin analysis. Up to $56,700 is available for this project.
Reduction of toxins and contaminants that pose a risk to human health and the Lake Champlain ecosystem remains a high priority for the Lake Champlain Steering Committee. This additional mercury concentration data will be used by health experts to inform consumption advisories as well as Lake management decisions.
Similarly, as potentially harmful cyanobacteria blooms appear in Lake Champlain each season, questions arise regarding the safety of handling and consumption of fish that are caught in or near cyanobacteria blooms. Guidance for anglers currently ranges from discarding fish remnants or skin to not eating fish caught in areas experiencing blooms, but limited scientific data informs that guidance.
“Data generated from this project will help resource managers and health officials frame appropriate guidance around the health risks of handling and consuming fish exposed to certain cyanotoxins,” said Eric Howe Technical Coordinator for the LCBP. Additionally, results from this study will be used to inform lake managers about the distribution of these contaminants (cyanotoxins and mercury) in fish tissue throughout Lake Champlain, and to provide updated information for the Northeast Regional mercury TMDL Phase II reassessment.
This work will help to achieve the goals of LCBP’s long-term management plan Opportunities for Action: An Evolving Plan for the Future of the Lake Champlain Basin and the related Toxic Substance Management Strategy. This project is supported by funds awarded to the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in support of the Lake Champlain Basin Program.
Please see the RFP and the proposal format information for complete details.
For Frequently Asked Questions about this project, please see this Q&A document..
To receive a copy of the Request for Proposals via U.S. Postal Service, contact contact Eric Howe, LCBP Technical Coordinator at (802) 372-3213 or toll free at (800) 468-5227.
Proposals are due in the LCBP office March 16, 2016 at 4:30 p.m.