TERMS OF REFERENCE
Position : Consultant – Verified hydrodynamic and improved
fish larvae modelling for pelagic MPA development
Reports to : Cross Cutting Program Manager
Coordinates with : Policy Coordinators, Technical Advisor
Location : Bogor, Indonesia
Background
One strategic priority of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Indonesia Marine Program is to help the country establish 1.3 million hectares of marine protected areas (MPA) by 2021. This forms part of WCS’s support to the Government of Indonesia, in order to help the country meet its commitment under the Aichi Targets. As of October 2018, Indonesia had already dedicated 20.8 milllion hectares of its waters as MPAs, but it is planning to increase this coverage to 31 million hectares in order to achieve its Aichi Target. Since most of these MPAs are located in coastal waters (within 12 nautical miles), a complementary approach is needed to secure the remaining 10-11 million hectares.
As an archipelagic nation, Indonesian waters covers 640 million hectares. Broken down, Indonesia’s territorial waters cover some 29 million hectares, archipelagic and internal waters cover about 311 million hectares, and its exclusive economic zone encompass almost half of all of Ihe county’s waters at around 300 million hactares .
The Sulawesi Sea is long known as a primary fishing ground for tuna fisheries and there is an indication that the area serves as a spawning ground, based on frequent reports of juvenile tuna catches. Tamarol and Wuaten (2013) reported that the main area for tuna fisheries is around the western waters of Sangihe Island.
Together with the Directorate for Conservation and Marine Biodiversity of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF), WCS is supporting the development of a large MPA in the Sulawesi Sea. Through a series of workshops involving various stakeholder groups conducted at the provincial and national levels, a list of needed priority studies were identified to provide the strong scientific basis to determine the ideal location of a pelagic MPA. One of these priority studies is on modeling larval dispersal.
Job summary
WCS Indonesia is seeking a Consultant who will verify hydrodynamic and larval dispersal model that was generated through a number of secondary data sources. The consultant will work on the previously developed model using a 10 years series data on hydrodynamic features of Sulawesi Sea (e.g. temperature, salinity, current). The position will report to the WCS Cross Cutting Program Manager and work closely with the Offshore MPA Specialist, WCS Indonesia Marine Program team. The Consultant will conduct several analyses to verify the hydrodynamic modelling simulation on larval dispersal in the Sulawesi Sea, involving data collection, analysis, and report writing.
Specific Technical Responsibilities
- Develop a robust survey design to verify the larval dispersal modelling
- Analyse the collected data dan improve developed larval dispersal model
- Generate a powerpoint presentation to share with and present to WCS staff, experts and other stakeholerson the findings.
- Produce a technical report highlighting key areas important for selected and targeted fish (i.e. source and sink of fish larvae). This will inform our understanding of the spatial distribution of key pelagic areas.
The consultant will work from April 15 to November 30 2020, with the following output schedule:
| Responsibilities | Specific activities | Output | Deadline |
| Develop robust survey design to verify the model | · Identify key hydrodynamic features for primary data collection · Develop and select representative sampling sites | Survey design and sampling site distribution | 30 April 2020 |
| Verify and improve the fish larvae dispersal model | · Conduct thorough checking on the primary collected data · Conduct analysis on the collated data to develop the larval dispersal model will be develop directly after larva abundance and larva ages (sateges) have been determined by for Larva expert | The fish larvae dispersal model | 30 September 2020 |
| Refined the “Rationale to establish Off-shore MPA in Sulawesi Sea” | · Participate in meetings and discussions · Integrate the larval dispersal model with other in depth studies | · Presentation slides · Revised “Rationale to establish Off-shore MPA in Sulawesi Sea” document | 30 November 2020 |
Applications
Please send a covering letter and CV in English to idrecruitment@wcs.org no late than 21 August 2020, stating in the subject line “Verified hydrodynamic and improved fish larvae modelling for pelagic MPA development_(name)”.
Please also include a portfolio of your previous work or links to blogs or galleries online.
No correspondence, only short-listed candidates will be notified.