Agency invites tenders for study on shellfish

The desk-based research study will be to provide evidence and information on the possibility for the use of a single shellfish indicator species for biotoxin and chemical monitoring in Scotland.

The results will inform future monitoring regimes, to ensure that public health is not compromised from the consumption of any shellfish species harvested from classified harvesting areas.

Shellfish (bivalve mollusc) feed by filtering plankton from the surrounding water that washes through their habitat. This feeding mechanism leads to the accumulation of marine biotoxins produced by certain species of plankton.

It may also introduce, into the shellfish flesh, environmental pollutants from the surrounding waters such as:

• dioxins
• polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
• heavy metals (trace elements)
• polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)

The accumulation potential of the shellfish species used for food is particularly relevant in the case of marine toxins, which when consumed can cause human illness, and environmental contaminants such as chlorinated dioxins and PCBs.

Researchers will be required to collate, critically review and evaluate available UK and international literature and evidence, both published and unpublished, on the use of indicator species for biotoxins and chemical monitoring in live bivalve molluscs.

Details about the specific approach and criteria, to be used in the assessment of the strength and robustness of the evidence identified, should be included.

It is envisaged that the project will take a maximum of six months, with a final report submitted to the Agency no later than the end of February 2014.

Applications should be submitted online using our electronic procurement system by 5pm on 4 April 2013.

To find out more about this call for tender, you will need to register as a supplier on the FSA’s electronic tendering system, ePPS, via the link below.