SOURCES SOUGHT
B -- Image Analysis of Eastern Bering sea Aleutian Islands Survey Data and Outreach Products, and Curriculum Package of Steller Sea Lion Research Information - Image Analysis Protocol
- Notice Date
- 6/26/2014
- 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
- 14-02703ImageAnalysis
- Archive Date
- 7/31/2014
- Point of Contact
- Susan L Labovitz, Phone: (303) 497-7943
- E-Mail Address
-
susan.labovitz@noaa.gov
(susan.labovitz@noaa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Image Analysis Protocol U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Image Analysis of Eastern Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Survey Data and Outreach Products, and Curriculum Package of Steller Sea Lion Research Information REQUEST FOR INFORMATION 1.0 INTRODUCTION: The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is seeking information from interested parties to determine availability of qualified sources products that meet the requirements described herein for conducting image analysis, preparing an outreach document for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) and developing a curriculum package for high school level science classes. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. Please note, response to this notice is for NOAA's informational and planning purposes only and is issued in accordance with FAR Provision 52.215-3 provided at: http://www.acquisition.gov/far/current/html/52_215.html#wp1144503. No solicitation document exists at this time. Consideration for a potential acquisition may occur in FY14. Issuance of this notice does not constitute any obligation on the part of the Government to procure these items or services to issue a solicitation. In addition, the Government is under no obligation to pay for information submitted in response to this RFI, and responses to this notice cannot be accepted as offers. Any information that the vendor considers proprietary should be clearly marked as such. Response to this notice is NOT mandatory to be eligible to receive any potential solicitation. If a competitive solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement. Interested parties are invited to submit responses to this notice (see Section 5.0 Information Requested, for a list of RFI questions). All information received in response to this notice will be safeguarded accordingly. Non-disclosure statements will be signed by non-government advisors who view the responses to this notice. Responses to this notice will not be returned. NOAA will NOT be eliminating any organization from any potential subsequent competitions based on the results of this RFI process. Microsoft Word format using 11 point Times New Roman font is the preferred format for submission. Adobe PDF is also acceptable. NOAA must receive the submissions by email no later than 10:00 Noon MDT, July 8, 2014 at the following email address: susan.labovitz@noaa.gov. For questions regarding this RFI you may also contact the contracting specialist at: Name: Susan L. Labovitz Address: U.S. Department of Commerce - NOAA 325 Broadway, SOU6 Boulder, CO 80305 Telephone: 303-497-7943 2.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION: BACKGROUND: The NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) has conducted research in the eastern Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands to model the distribution of deep-sea coral and sponge species, and to understand the relationship between Steller sea lion diet and population trend. Deep-sea coral and sponges are often habitat for important commercially harvested groundfish and many are vulnerable to impacts from fishing activities such as bottom trawling. Knowing the distribution of these organisms, their associations with commercially harvested species and communicating this information to managers and stakeholders is crucial to effective management of fisheries. Steller sea lions are an endangered species throughout most of Alaska, and the reasons for their continued decline in abundance in most of the Aleutians has eluded scientists and managers. From 2012-2014, the AFSC has been conducting research to groundtruth distribution models of coral and sponge using a drop camera at randomly chosen sites in the eastern Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. At each site 15 minutes of still images are collected (once per second) using a stereo drop camera. These still images need to be analyzed to determine the habitat type, species of benthic invertebrates, species of groundfish, and size of individuals observed in each frame. In addition, this information needs to be compiled into outreach documents summarizing the results that are easily digestible by stakeholder groups and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC). AFSC has been studying the diet and population trends of Steller sea lions in the Aleutian Islands since the mid-1980s. The story of their population decline and diet, along with the rise of commercial fisheries and changing climate and weather conditions, provides a useful framework for teachers to show how scientists ask questions and collect data to address a real-world environmental problem. The development of a curriculum package will enable teachers to utilize information that AFSC scientists have collected over several decades in their environmental science education. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: The contractor shall 1) conduct image analyses, 2) prepare an outreach document for the NPFMC stakeholders, and 3) develop a curriculum package for high school level science classes. The contractor will work closely with the Principal Investigator on the project to complete the image analysis and outreach products. 1) Image Analyses To date, the AFSC have collected images from 216 camera transects in the Aleutian Islands and anticipate collecting images from 300 camera transects in the eastern Bering Sea in August 2014. Each transect consists of ~900 pairs of still images from which the species of fish and invertebrates, size and habitat information must be obtained. To date, 59 of the camera transects from the Aleutian Islands have been analyzed. The contractor shall analyze all images from 421 transects (300 transects from the eastern Bering Sea and 121 transects from the Aleutian Islands). The analyses shall be conducted according to the attached protocols, and using software and computers provided by the AFSC. The highest priority analysis for the contractor will be the 300 camera transects from the eastern Bering Sea which shall be completed by June 1, 2015. The secondary priority will be the 121 transects from the Aleutian Islands which shall be completed by October 31, 2015. The images will all be housed on DOC data systems at the AFSC (RACE Division shared drives). The analyses can be carried out by accessing the images through the AFSC network. 2) Outreach Document The contractor shall prepare an outreach document for NPFMC stakeholders that describes each of the eastern Bering Sea camera transects that was processed. This document will include a 1-2 page summary of information for each transect. The summary information shall include the start and end latitude and longitude of the transect, the depth range, the general location, the mean temperature, mean depth (and range), the date of dive, numbers of fishes and invertebrates observed (by species), the size of fishes and invertebrates, the dominant substrate types observed, example images, and any additional comments on the analyses. An example of the type of reporting expected can be found in Appendix III of the NOAA Technical Memorandum titled "Southeastern United States Deep-Sea Corals (SEADESC) Initiative: A Collaborative Effort to Characterize Areas of Habitat-Forming Deep-Sea Corals" which can be viewed at http://safmc.net/managed-areas/pdf/SEADESC_Report.pdf. The outreach document shall be completed by October 31, 2015. 3) Curriculum Package The contractor shall develop a curriculum package for high school level science classes. This curriculum package shall describe research on Stellar sea lion biology. The curriculum shall integrate information about Steller sea lion biology, diet, and population trend with other NPRB-funded research on abundance and distribution of Atka mackerel (NPRB projects 417, 522, 1114 and 1305), which is one of the principal prey species of Steller sea lions but also the target of the largest groundfish fishery in the Aleutian Islands. The curriculum unit will be designed so that students gain experience analyzing and interpreting real-world data. The curriculum unit will teach students about Steller sea lion diets; the distribution of their prey; how and what kind of data are collected to study Steller sea lion food habits, and how the data can be analyzed; and the potential overlaps and conflicts of Steller sea lions with human activities in some of the most remote areas of the world. The contractor shall include in the currriculum examples of real-world data on sea lion food habits and population trends collected by AFSC, as well as data on Atka mackerel abundance and distribution, for hands-on manipulation, analysis, and display. The lessons will emphasize the types of data collected to study sea lion diet and how these data can be used to help manage our nation's fisheries and the healthy ecosystems of which they are a part. The target audience for the curriculum unit is high school science classes, with particular emphasis on rural Alaska schools where an integrated curriculum covering several subject areas (e.g. math, science, history, civics) can be used. The curriculum unit shall meet Alaska (SA2; SC3.2; SE1-3), Washington (M1.5, EALR 1; EALR 2) and Ocean Literacy (3 e,f; 5 a, d, e, f) educational standards. It shall include background documents describing the study and data, maps of study locations, data in Excel worksheets, maps of data in Ocean Data View, instructions on carrying out exercises, workbooks to carry out exercises and keys to the answers for instructors. The curriculum package will be provided in electronic format. 4. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS The Government will provide a user account and access to the DOC data systems. The contractor will have access to and use Government hardware, application software, system software or sensitive data as needed. This service will be performed on federal government property located at 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle WA 98115. IT security consideration and controls will be put in place before commencement of service. 5. DELIVERABLE SCHEDULE: The planned start date is August 18, 2014. The specific deliverables are outlined in the table below. Delivery of draft coral/sponge outreach documents and data from image analyses shall be submitted to Chris Rooper by June 1st, 2015 (to coincide with the scheduled June NPFMC meeting in Anchorage, AK) and final deliverables will be produced by October 1st, 2015. The Steller sea lion curriculum package shall be delivered to by 31 December 2014. Table 1. Schedule of deliverables for the contract Deliverable Description Completion Date Delivery To Steller sea lion diet curriculum 12/31/2014 Lowell Fritz Image analyses of 300 transects from the eastern Bering Sea 6/1/2015 Chris Rooper Image analyses of 121 images from the Aleutian Islands 10/1/2015 Chris Rooper Summary outreach document for the NPFMC 10/1/2015 Chris Rooper 3.0 ADDITIONAL REFERENCE DOCUMENTATION: The analysis shall be conducted according to the attached protocols. 4.0 EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: This effort requires previous experience identifying fish and invertebrates from the eastern Bering Sea Slope and shelf, previous experience providing outreach documents for the NPFMC and other stakeholders in Alaska fisheries, and previous experience developing such educational resources using real-world marine fisheries data and ecological research information. In-depth knowledge of NOAA Fisheries, AFSC marine mammal and fisheries research and management, and school needs in Alaska, is advantageous. 5.0 INFORMATION REQUESTED: NMFS is conducting market research and intends to collect responses from industry experts in image analysis, eastern Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands species identification, developing outreach products for stakeholders and developing high school level curriculum. The information collected will help NMFS plan the acquisition strategy for this requirement. Response shall be no more than 15 pages and shall include the following: 5.1 Company Profile • Include the company name, address, point of contact(s), telephone number, fax number, and size of business. • Tell us about your organization, submit a capability statement outlining (summarizing) your qualifications in meeting our requirements. • Provide experiences providing similar services (not to exceed 3). 5.2 Questions- Provide responses to the following questions: 5.2.1 Image analysis Q1: Please provide your experience in processing images from underwater camera systems for species identification. Please address the following in your answer: ○ Previous experience with identification of fish species from the eastern Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands ○ Previous experience with identification of benthic invertebrates (corals and sponges) in the eastern Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 5.2.2 Outreach document Q1: Please provide your experience in producing outreach documents for stakeholders in the format used by NOAA publications (e.g. NOAA Technical Memorandum or AFSC Processed Report series). ○ Specifically list previous NOAA Technical Memorandum or AFSC Processed reports for which you were coauthor or author. ○ Provide up to two examples of previous documents or other outreach products that summarized NOAA data for stakeholders. 5.2.3 Curriculum package Q1: Please provide examples of your previous experience in producing high school level curriculum packages for science classes. ○ Provide examples of curricula that were produced that met the Alaska (SA2; SC3.2, SE1-3), Washington (M1.5,EALR 1, EALR 2) and Ocean Literacy (3 e, f; 5 a, d, e, f) educational standards. Please advise if there is anything you feel is an important consideration that we have not addressed in our questions or requirements.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NOAA/MASC/14-02703ImageAnalysis/listing.html)
- Record
- SN03407045-W 20140628/140626234631-74a4b6730ac048197b51f4dfd7766f15 (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 |