Request for Proposals: Modeling Effects of Changing Ecosystems on Fisheries and Fishing Communities
Proposal Submission Deadline: May 22, 2026
Additional details regarding scope of work, qualifications, budget, and submission requirements are available in the full Request for Proposals.
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) is seeking proposals for Phase III of its Communities Project: Modeling Effects of Changing Ecosystems on Fisheries and Fishing Communities. The Communities Project is a multi-phase effort designed to strengthen understanding of how ecosystem change affects fisheries and the fishing communities that depend on them, and to better integrate community considerations into Council decision-making. Phase I is focused on identifying and characterizing fishing communities and their vulnerabilities to ecosystem change. Phase II will build on that foundation by integrating community information into outreach and communication efforts to strengthen incorporation of community perspectives into Council deliberations. Phase III will be informed by the information gathered during Phase I and II and apply ecosystem modeling to explore linkages between ecological change and fishery outcomes and associated community implications.
Phase III will apply the South Atlantic Region Ecopath with Ecosim and Ecospace (SAR EwE) ecosystem modeling framework to evaluate scenarios of ecosystem change and develop management-relevant ecosystem indicators that link ecosystem dynamics to fishery and community outcomes. Results will support SAFMC’s evaluation of risk, tradeoffs, and management alternatives under changing environmental conditions and advance ecosystem-based fisheries management.
The project is expected to begin June 2026 and be completed by September 2027, with a budget not to exceed $170,000 total for the full project term.