SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- Cetacean prey selection/biopsy/tagging, Cetacean tag development, dorsal fin tissue assessment, and vessel movement analyses
- Notice Date
- 5/31/2012
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Western Acquisition Division-Boulder, 325 Broadway - MC3, Boulder, Colorado, 80305-3328, United States
- ZIP Code
- 80305-3328
- Solicitation Number
- RFI_03520
- Archive Date
- 8/31/2012
- Point of Contact
- Susan L Labovitz, Phone: (303) 497-7943, Mark Caban, Phone: 303-497-6875
- E-Mail Address
-
susan.labovitz@noaa.gov, mark.caban@noaa.gov
(susan.labovitz@noaa.gov, mark.caban@noaa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS OBJECTIVE: THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS FOR WRITTEN INFORMATION ONLY. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT FOR QUOTES AND NO CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED FROM THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. In preparation for a future procurement, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is performing market research to determine potential sources. Based on market research results, NOAA reserves the right to set this action aside for small businesses or award as a sole source procurement. This announcement is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, implied or otherwise, to issue a solicitation or award a contract. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this synopsis or any follow up information requests. The proposed project will eventually result in an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. TITLE: Cetacean prey selection/biopsy/tagging, Cetacean tag development, dorsal fin tissue assessment, and vessel movement analyses BACKGROUND: The Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides scientific and technical support to NOAA Fisheries for the management, conservation, and wise use of the northwest region's marine and anadromous resources. The Marine Mammal and Seabird Ecology Team is responsible for research on the ecology, distribution, abundance, and threats to marine mammal and seabird species in the NW, primarily the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales. The Cascadia Research Collective, the incumbent vendor, has performed the needed functions for NWFSC for the past 10 years. PURPOSE: The Government is determining whether there are additional sources capable of performing the same services as the incumbent vendor. The Government is looking for a vendor that can perform all of the functions described in this announcement. The vendor shall be able to : (1) determine the prey selected by killer whales and other marine mammal species throughout their range; (2) collect biopsy samples from all killer whales and other marine mammal species as encountered; (3) develop and deploy suction cup and dart-type tags that will carry various sensor packages on various cetacean species in various regions of the North Pacific Ocean, and conduct assessments of transmitter and attachment performance. (4) Conduct dorsal fin tissue assessment; and(5) conduct analyses of vessel movement in the vicinity of whales. TASKS: Task 1: Predation event, fecal, mucus, and regurgitation sampling - The vendor will collect prey/fecal etc. samples and focal follow behavioral data associated with each whale encounter. Other data to be collected will include date, time, descriptive location, latitude/longitude, direction, count, pod/subpod, and comments. Task 2: Biopsy collection - The vendor will collect biopsy samples and associated behavioral data associated with each sample. Other data to be collected will include date, time, descriptive location, latitude/longitude, animal ID, reaction, dart projector settings, and comments. Task 3: Develop and deploy tags on cetaceans - The vendor shall acquire appropriate transmitters, attachments, and deployment system components in consultation with NWFSC. The vendor shall develop telemetry tag attachment and deployment systems in consultation with NWFSC. The vendor shall test telemetry tag attachment and deployments systems in consultation with NWFSC. The vendor shall deploy tags on cetaceans in consultation with the NWFSC and compile all deployment specific information consistent with, and included in, an existing database. The vendor shall obtain and process location data from tagged cetaceans. The vendor shall obtain and compile all resight photos of all tagged whales in a database of whale ID specific folders. Task 4: Conduct dorsal fin tissue assessment - The vendor will quantify collagen composition of dorsal fin histological slides using imaging software, measure material properties of load bearing tissues using a uniaxial tester, and measure collagen fiber geometry in the dorsal fin of four species of cetaceans per NWFSC methods. Task 5: Vessel movement analysis - The vendor will conduct an analysis of detailed vessel movements near SRKW using NWFSC data in order to assess sound exposure, per NWFSC/Cascadia developed protocol. Additional Tasks: - Task orders may be issued to the contractor to address issues that may arise in the study of cetaceans in the North Pacific Ocean. Such projects may include social organization, prey relationships, vessel interactions, movements and distribution, and health assessment. This list is not inclusive but is given to provide the type of studies that may be required. If such requirements arise, a request for proposal will be sent to the contractor and the contractor shall respond with a cost estimate based on the pre-priced labor rates contained in the contract. The contractor shall respond within 5 days or as stated in the request for proposal provided to the contractor. The statement of work issued by the government will fully explain all requirements required by the government. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: A five year contract is being considered. It will consist of a 1-year base period followed by four 1-year option periods. The contract is expected to be placed in September 2012 and potentially extend through August 2017. QUALIFICATION STATEMENT RESPONSE: The vendor's response to this Synopsis shall include the following information: 1. Vendor's name, address, point of contact, phone number and email address. 2. Vendor's interest in quoting on the solicitation when it is issued. 3. Vendor's qualifications and capability to meet all of the listed requirements. 4. Evidence of vendor's capability to execute and successfully perform comparable work in the past (list of customers). 5. Vendor's small business category and business size. The applicable NAICS code is 541712 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)) with a size standard of 500 employees. You must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) to be eligible to receive an award from any future Government solicitation. For additional information, please visit the CCR website at htts://www.bpn.gov/ccr/. You must be registered in the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) to be eligible to receive a future award from any Government solicitation. For additional information, please visit the ORCA website at https//orca.bpn.gov. Any interested vendors should submit capability statement with information that clearly demonstrates their capabilities to provide the services described above in reference to RFI_03520. The vendor's capability statement is merely an aid to NOAA's market research efforts. NOAA will consider all comments, supportive or critical, but may or may not use these individual comments. Standard vendor brochures will not be considered a sufficient response to the Sources Sought Synopsis. Qualification Statements will be treated separately from, and will have no bearing on, any subsequent evaluation of proposals submitted in response to any resulting future formal Request for Quotes. NOAA will not pay for information or comments provided and will not recognize any costs associated with submission of comments. Respondents are advised that NOAA is under no obligation to provide respondents with any feedback on the information received. Responses to the above should be submitted to Susan Labovitz at 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305-3328 or to susan.labovitz@noaa.gov no later than 3:00 PM MDT, Tuesday, June 12, 2012. EMAIL IS THE PREFERRED METHOD FOR RECEIVING RESPONSES TO THIS SYNOPSIS. Point of Contact: Susan Labovitz, 303-497-7943
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NOAA/MASC/RFI_03520/listing.html)
- Record
- SN02762491-W 20120602/120531235650-d62662e99dd1d7fa45ebc278c1de7da3 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |