Department of Commerce, NOAA, 200 World Trade Center, Room 209, Norfolk, VA 23510-1624

99 -- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION FOR FISHERY GILLNET TAGS AND SHIPPERS/DISTRIBUTORS POC Annette Stevenson, Contract Specialist (757) 441-6526, Lynne Phipps, Contracting Officer (757)441-6881 WEB: EASC Homepage, www.easc.noaa.gov. E-MAIL: Contract Specialist, Annette.S.Stevenson@noaa.gov. The purpose of this notice is to solicit information as to the availability of potential sources that can provide the requirement identified hereafter. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is seeking information on the availability of tag or seal manufacturers capable of manufacturing and distributing packages of gillnet tags to approximately 200 to 300 vessel owners. NOAA is also seeking information from organizations capable of acting as shipping agents to purchase tags from manufacturers, receive payment for the tags, and ship the tags to authorized recipients. The use of the tags by certain vessel owners is required under the current monkfish and multispecies management plans. The number of gillnets used in these fisheries vary, therefore, the number of tags per order may vary. Approximately 30,000 to 40,000 tags may be required. Under the program, vessel owners will be required to forward a completed National Marine Fisheries Service order form and a check for the tag purchase to the authorized distributor. The tag manufacturer/distributor shall ship requested tags to vessel owners, and provide NOAA with copies of the receipts documenting the transactions. The majority of the manufacturing and distribution activity will occur on a biennial basis, with occasional activity throughout the year, as needed to supply replacement tags, or new participants in the fishery. Start-up of this program is targeted for February, 2001. Minimum Shipping Specifications: (1) Tags must be shipped directly to approximately 200 to 300 business locations via certified mail, UPS, or comparable service. The manufacturer shall fill tag orders received on official National Marine Fisheries Service order forms only, and forward copies of receipts documenting completed orders to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Minimum Technical Specifications: (1) Colored (color varies biennially), oval, round, or elliptical shaped tags, made of a material that can withstand the mechanical and other stresses of use inthe marine environment, with 3/4" to 1" sized hole, and embossed with "US", sequentially numbered 00001 to 18,000, and 20,000 to 36,000. All interested parties responding to this synopsis must indicate their size status. The SIC code for this action is 3499. Small business size standard is 500 employees. All respondents must prepare a qualifications/capabilities information paper specific to this requirement. Submission of company brochures will not be considered as meeting the information paper requirements. Written responses are due no later than January 4, 2000 and should be sent to Department of Commerce, NOAA/EASC, Attn: Annette Stevenson, 200 World Trade Center, Room 209, Norfolk, Virginia, 23510. Questions can be directed to Tom Warren (978) 281-9347. The Government reserves the right, without further consideration, to render a determination of small business set-aside based solely on the information received. The Government will NOT pay for information received in response to this announcement nor will the Government compensate any respondent for any costs incurred in the development of information provided to the Government. All responses to this inquiry shall be retained on a source list for any possible solicitation to be issued under separate synopsis. Any information received as a result of this notice will NOT be provided to other contractors. NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENT CURRENTLY EXISTS. Posted 12/10/99 (W-SN407691). (0344)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0214 19991214\99-0003.SOL)