SOURCES SOUGHT
B -- Economic and Bycatch Data Collection for Tuna Vessels
- Notice Date
- 2/4/2011
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Western Region Acquisition Division, 7600 Sand Point Way, Northeast, Seattle, Washington, 98115-6349
- ZIP Code
- 98115-6349
- Solicitation Number
- AB133F-11-RP-0066
- Point of Contact
- Mimi Antonio Hetzel, Phone: 206-526-6032
- E-Mail Address
-
Mimi.A.Hetzel@noaa.gov
(Mimi.A.Hetzel@noaa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- NOTICE: THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. The information provided in response to this notice will assist the Government in identifying sources that are capable of furnishing the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) with the requirements below. NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center has a requirement to: 1. Collect vessel-level economic cost and returns data for individual Class 5 and Class 6 tuna purse seine vessels for the calendar years 2009 and 2010. 2. Collect vessel-level bycatch data, to the extent it exists, for calendar years 2009 and 2010 at a trip-level of detail from purse seine vessel unloading data, where bycatch includes small individuals on the target species, such as yellowfin, skipjack, and bigeye, as well other species of fish, marine mammals, sea turtles, sea birds, and other marine organisms. A Firm Fixed Price contract is contemplated which will cover costs for Labor, Travel and the provision of all deliverables. Government personnel will be responsible for the overall scheduling of project activity and will provide the contractor's liaison/project manager, as appropriate, scheduling information. Background 1. Capacity and Rights-Based Management: Economic Data Needs The world's tuna fisheries are at a critical juncture, with most tuna stocks fully exploited and some overexploited, and all of them face growing fishing pressures from high demand, overcapacity, and the ongoing march of technology. The conservation and management of these tuna stocks are complicated by the transnational nature of these and other highly migratory species, so that the stocks are shared among nations' Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), but also extend to the high seas beyond these EEZs. Highly mobile fleets of vessels of multiple gear types from many nations harvest these tunas in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans and adjacent seas, creating problems of coordination, cooperation, and transboundary externalities. The transnational nature of the tunas and fishing fleets creates conservation and management issues of jurisdiction, property rights, international law, and multilateral cooperation. Limited entry into tuna fisheries, and, in general, an even greater strengthening of property rights, coupled with multilateral cooperation, are required to prevent the inevitable outcome of overexploitation of the world's tuna stocks, further overcapacity, and declining profitability and general socioeconomic benefits. Available fishing capacity is far greater than necessary to harvest the tuna stocks at levels corresponding to the Maximum Sustainable Yield and well beyond that for Maximum Economic Yield. This overcapacity is currently causing overfishing of some stocks and tunas and economic inefficiencies and unless controlled, poses a serious threat to the health of many of the world's tuna stocks as well as causing erosion of economic benefits, waste of capital, and heightened conflict among states over a fixed or steadily declining resource base. Urgent action is required to forestall this slide in the ecological and economic health. The time is ripe to address these problems and their root causes, especially free entry into the fisheries, weak or absent harvest rights, allocation of fishing and property rights, and inadequacies in international law, institutions, and treaties. A shift is needed to realign the incentives of tuna fleets away from the race to fish and its consequences, to incentives that favor sustainable target catches and resource stocks, conserving the ecosystem and limiting the ecological cost of fishing, and increasing the economic surplus. In this way, the actions of individuals and groups more closely align with the interests of society and common resource externalities are reduced or eliminated. The first step towards controlling capacity is to establish limited entry after which reductions in vessel numbers can be negotiated. Technological advances need to be taken into account to avoid effort creep. Buybacks are a potential second step to voluntarily reduce excessive capacity and can be an important catalyst to rights-based management. The third step entails establishing exclusive rights to fish. A system of rights can be an exclusive use or a property right. Similar systems could be used for fulfilling obligations such as bycatch limits. Such rights-based management is an effective way to address overcapacity, over-exploitation, conservation, create sustainable economic and social benefits, and employment. Economic research is required in the process addressing overcapacity and when establishing rights-based management, including the potential use of vessel buybacks. Measures of the net economic benefits, such as through a cost-benefit analysis and bioeconomic model, are required to point the way and convince fishers and Regional Fishery Management Organizations (RFMOs) of the economic gains, as well as to clarify potential fleet restructurings. Economic research is also ideally an integral part of clarifying and establishing design elements of vessel buybacks and various forms of rights-based management. Economic research that is credible and convincing cannot proceed without sound economic data, particularly vessel-level data on the financial and economic costs of harvesting, catches and revenues, and measures of economic input usage. Such data are patchy and are decidedly incomplete. Hence, one purpose of this contract is to collect vessel-level economic and vessel data for tropical purse seine vessels, as detailed in Tasks 1 and 2 below. 2. Bycatch Bycatch is becoming increasingly important for the management of tropical tuna fisheries, and forms a second critical issue. Bycatch includes small target tunas, non-target species of fish, marine mammals, sea birds, sea turtles, and other marine animals taken during fishing tunas. Many bycatch species are discarded at sea, where many of these species die, creating a waste. Particular concerns arise when the bycatch is a long-lived species with low reproductive rates, particularly if the species is threatened or endangered. Bycatch of particular species may have impacts on the ecosystem and biodiversity, such as removal of top-level predators or of prey. Bycatch has negative impacts on fishers as well. Bycatch can be a source of conflict, creates a bad image with consumers, leads to restrictive regulations, and can decrease profit because of the time that must be spent separating the bycatch from the fish to be retained. Moreover, if bycatch is mainly small tunas of the target species, it can lead to a decline in the resource of interest. Objectives of bycatch management, therefore, can be diverse: avoiding severe depletion of a species, retaining the basic structure and functioning of ecosystems, reducing waste in fisheries, reducing interactions between fisheries, keeping fisheries open, and rebuilding depleted populations. Reduction of bycatch is likely to be enacted through a combination of measures, since no single measure is likely to reduce bycatch to the amount desired or at a reasonable cost. Bycatch reduction is likely to focus on fish caught in association with floating objects, particularly drifting floating aggregation devices (FADs), and on impacts on endangered species (e.g. sea turtles and seabirds). Technology standards - gear, handling, and operations - are likely to form the centerpiece of any suite of measures adopted, much as they did for dolphin conservation or shallow sets of pelagic longlines for swordfish. Technology standards can be particularly useful in transnational fisheries requiring multilateral actions, since more informal coordinated activities among nations can be implemented far more easily and quickly than more formal cooperative agreements, such as treaties. Compliance is also easier to obtain and to verify. Description of Work and Services: Task 1. Collect vessel-level economic cost and returns data for individual Class 5 and Class 6 tuna purse seine vessels for the calendar year 2009 and 2010. The data will be inspected for data quality issues and missing data and reported electronically in either an Excel or Access file or in a text file. If necessary, individual vessel identifiers can be assigned that mask the identity (name, etc.) of the vessel, thereby maintaining complete confidentiality. Data would then be presented single blind (contractor cannot identify vessel). Data are to be collected according to the following conditions and criteria: 1. Costs are expressed in US dollars per vessel per year for the purse seine fleet for calendar years 2009 and 2010. 2. Costs and inputs include those for: a. Flag state identifier (if this does not complicate obtaining data) b. Fuel (quantity consumed and total trip costs or unit price) c. Salt d. Water e. Oil (quantity consumed and total trip costs or unit price) f. Crew (quantity, including officers, and total labor costs or wages) g. Crew share index (in % either on sales value or tonnage) and number of shares for the different categories of crew h. Transportation of crew costs i. Food costs j. Crew insurance costs (P&I) k. Payroll taxes l. Hull insurance costs m. Port fees n. Management costs o. Communication costs (telephone, internet) p. Vessel payments (principal and interest) q. Depreciation costs r. Transhipment costs when applicable s. Trip maintenance and repair costs t. Repair costs skiff and chase boats u. Repair costs electronics v. Repairs nets or related gear and equipment w. Repairs hydraulics x. Operating costs and supplies y. Repair costs of powerblocks z. Costs of the purse-seine (depreciation time) aa. Helicopter costs when applicable (e.g. pilot, lease, operating, insurance) bb. Number of buoys/drifting FADs per type (radio, satellite, equipped with echosounders...); costs, date of purchase cc. Number of sonars (bottom, side), echosounders, bird radars; date of purchase dd. Equipment to avoid by-catches (ecological FADs, repealing bait and devices) ee. Permits and licenses ff. Vessel gross registered tons, length overall, cubic meters of well capacity gg. Main engine horsepower hh. Vessel purchase price and date of purchase ii. Vessel insured replacement value jj. Self-assessment of sale value of vessel kk. Date of vessel construction and last major overhaul (e.g. stretching) ll. Yellowfin landings for trips predominately setting on floating objects mm. Skipjack landings for trips predominately setting on floating objects nn. Bigeye landings for trips predominately setting on floating objects oo. Other species landings for trips predominately setting on floating objects pp. Yellowfin landings for trips predominately setting on schools (and dolphins in the ETP) qq. Skipjack landings for predominately setting on schools (and dolphins in the ETP) rr. Bigeye landings for predominately setting on schools (and dolphins in the ETP) ss. Other species landings for predominately setting on schools (and dolphins in the ETP) tt. Yellowfin revenue uu. Skipjack revenue vv. Bigeye revenue ww. Average sea surface temperature and/or sea level pressure per set for floating objects and for school sets (and dolphin sets in the ETP) if available xx. Total days at sea per trip yy. Total days fishing by set type per trip zz. Number of sets by set type per trip Task 2. Collect vessel-level bycatch data, to the extent it exists, for calendar years 2009 and 2010 at a trip-level of detail from purse seine vessel unloading data, where bycatch includes small individuals on the target species, such as yellowfin, skipjack, and bigeye, as well other species of fish, marine mammals, sea turtles, sea birds, and other marine organisms. The data will be inspected for data quality issues and missing data and reported electronically in either an Excel or Access file or in a text file. Specifically, the bycatch data would include: 1. Start and end date of unloading 2. Supplier 3. DFS 4. Carrier 5. Fishing vessel name 6. Trip date 7. Flag state 8. Fishing area 9. Port of unloading 10. Invoice weight 11. Skipjack catch (metric tons) for size groups: a. <3 lbs b. 3-4 lbs c. 4-7.5 lbs d. > 7.5 lbs 12. Yellowfin catch (metric tons) for size groups: a. <3 lbs b. 3-4 lbs c. 4-7.5 lbs d. 7.5-20 lbs e. > 20 lbs 13. Bigeye catch (metric tons) for size groups: a. <3 lbs b. 3-4 lbs c. 4-7.5 lbs d. 7.5-20 lbs e. > 20 14. Ex-vessel price (when applicable) (in U.S. dollars) 15. The trip level of detail would come from a representative sampling of deliveries to the following ports: a. American Samoa b. Manta / Guayaquil / Pesorja Ecuador c. Bangkok, Thailand d. Mauritius e. Seychelles The NMFS project leader is responsible for the overall scheduling of the project activity and selection of communication needs. The contractor is responsible for scheduling the work to be done each day. Contractor personnel are required to do the work independently, generating high quality results in a timely manner. The Government does not provide insurance to the Contractor and is not liable for injuries suffered by the Contractor during the performance of duties. Required Knowledge and Experience: Selected individuals must have the following qualifications: The work requires extensive experience with: 1. the management of large, complex data sets; 2. commercial tuna fisheries data collection in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Western and Central Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean related to purse seine tuna fisheries; 3. access to confidential vessel-level data on cost, returns, and economic inputs; 4. access to confidential landings and bycatch data in American Samoa, Manta / Guayaquil / Pesorja Ecuador, Bangkok, Thailand, Mauritius, and Seychelles for the years 2009 and 2010; and 5. the demonstrated ability to organize and develop written documentation. Deliverables The contractor will complete the projects identified and deliver them to the NMFS project leader according to the following schedule: Task 1. 1. On or before September 30, 2011 the contractor will deliver the tuna purse seine economic and vessel data for 2009 from Task 1 in either an Excel or Access file or in a text file. Contractor will deliver coding, documentation, and a summary report of these activities in addition to the electronic data files. 2. On or before September 30, 2012 the contractor will deliver the tuna purse seine economic and vessel data for 2010 from Task 1 in either an Excel or Access file or in a text file. Contractor will deliver coding, documentation, and a summary report of these activities in addition to the electronic data files. Task 2. 1. On or before March 31, 2011 the contractor will deliver 2009 landings and bycatch data from Task 2 in either an Excel or Access file or in a text file. Contractor will deliver coding, documentation, and a summary report of these activities in addition to the electronic data files. 2. On or before March 31, 2012 the contractor will deliver 2010 landings and bycatch data from Task 2 in either an Excel or Access file or in a text file. Contractor will deliver coding, documentation, and a summary report of these activities in addition to the electronic data files. Any resulting contract will be awarded as a firm-fixed price contract. The NAICS code for this requirement is 541990 and the small-business size standard is $7.0 mil. Interested firms shall provide, in writing, a brief narrative and documentation to support your firm's capability and experience meeting the requirements herein and include your firm's name, address, point of contact, telephone number, DUNS Number, CCR Cage Number, business type and size, i.e., small, large, non-profit, educational, and so forth. Any response that does not include this information will not be considered. The Government will review your response to determine if your firm has the experience, knowledge and capability to perform the services as specified above. This request for information does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued. Nor does this request for information constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise that any procurement action that may be issued for the Government's requirements. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of the submission of contractor's information. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for proprietary information not properly identified. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. All contractors doing business with the Government are required to be registered with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). In addition, completion of the online representation and certifications application (ORCA) is required. NOTE: THIS SYNOPSIS IS NOT CONSIDERED A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL BUT A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. No solicitation document is available. No contract will be awarded on the basis of responses received to this notice. Detailed information must be submitted by email to the Contract Specialist, Mimi Antonio Hetzel at mimi.a.hetzel@noaa.gov by 2:00 PM local Seattle time (PST), on Friday, February 18, 2011. Questions of any nature must be addressed in writing as TELEPHONE INQUIRIES WILL NOT BE HONORED.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NOAA/WASC/AB133F-11-RP-0066/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: United States; American Samoa; Manta, Guayaquil, Pesorja, Ecuador; Bangkok, Thailand; Mauritius and Seychelles, United States
- Record
- SN02373056-W 20110206/110204233857-2be9b91dd9919179c78a3edf4faa56a6 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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