1305M325R0015_AMENDMENT_0002_VENDOR_Q_A.pdf

NEFOP Solicitation 1305M325R0015 Vendor Q & A

1. The RFP requires the Offeror to assign a Project Manager, an Assistant Project Manager, and New England/Mid-Atlantic COOs to the contract, but the price submittal worksheet only contains fields and hours for the rates for Observers 1-3. Where in the price submittal worksheet should the Offeror include costs associated with its Project Manager, Assistant Project Manager, and New England/Mid-Atlantic COOs?

The noted positions are not direct-billed, but are rolled into the Sea Day Observer daily rates as part of overhead. Please include these costs in the Sea Day Observer Support Services line items in the price submittal worksheet. Additionally, please review revised CAR 1352.237-75 in Amendment 0002, which clarifies key personnel requirements.

2. The RFP requires the Offeror to assign 8 Area Coordinators and 2 Field Coordinators to the contract, but the price submittal worksheet only contains a field for the rates for Observers 1-3. Where in the price submittal worksheet should the Offeror include costs associated with its Area Coordinators and Field Coordinator?

Please review revised CAR 1352.237-75 in Amendment 0002, which clarifies key personnel requirements. Key personnel are not direct-billed, but are rolled into the Sea Day Observer daily rates as part of overhead. Please include these costs in the Sea Day daily rates in the price submittal worksheet.

3. Under the KEY PERSONNEL clause in the RFP, it states that the key personnel are to be “assigned at award by separate letter,” but the requirements for Volume II require offerors to provide resumes for 14 key personnel with proposal submittal. Please confirm if key personnel are to be named, evaluated, and resumes provided as part of the proposal.

Please follow all instructions stated in CAR 1352.215-70 Proposal Preparation (APR 2010) of the Solicitation for all aspects of the RFP, including Key Personnel. Key Personnel must be evaluated as part of the RFP. Please note that CAR 1352.237-75 Key Personnel (APR 2010) states “to be assigned at award by separate letter” because the names of all Key Personnel will not be included in the contract award directly, but will be assigned at the time of award by a separate letter. Please review revised CAR 1352.237-75 in Amendment 0002, which clarifies key personnel requirements.

4. The price submittal worksheet requires unit rates for biological samples (standard) and biological samples (individual). Please provide details on what costs are to be included in the sample rates (since Observer labor is captured under labor rates).

Please review C.4.2.5 Observer Duties and Data Collection Requirements for the Biological Port Sampling Program on pages 17 through 19 of the Performance Work Statement for this information.

5. Since the incumbent contractor alone knows the current cost of biological samples, would you consider providing the biological sample costs as a plugged (government-provided value) similar to how you have provided set dollar values for travel, training, and vessel meal reimbursement? This would give non-incumbent bidders an equal advantage in pricing this element.

Travel, training, and vessel meal reimbursement all include “Not-to-Exceed (NTE)” costs, which is why the Government is able to provide a set dollar amount. Biological samples do not include NTE costs, and we are requesting that offerers propose their own Firm Fixed Price for biological sampling. Therefore, the Government is unable to provide pricing for these items. However, similar biological sampling services are currently provided under Contract 1305M418DNFFK0011, Task Order 1305M220FNFFM0336, and offerors may look into any publicly available records as applicable.

6. To enable pricing accuracy, please provide historical cost data for equipment, supplies, consumables, rentals, and transportation.

The Government cannot provide this information. Interested parties are encouraged to perform their own market research for their proposals.

7. To enable pricing accuracy, please provide the required equipment list.

Please review Attachment 30: NEFOP Gear List starting on page 205 of the document titled Performance Work Statement (PWS) Attachments that was posted to SAM.gov on 4/18/2025 as an attachment to Solicitation 1305M325R0015.

8. The provided wage determination attachment appears to be from 2022. Is a more recent wage determination applicable to this solicitation?

Please note that the Wage Determination included in the Solicitation, Number 2004-0287 Revision Number 50, is dated 3/26/2025. This is the most recent Wage Determination.

9. Please clarify that any laboratory analysis costs associated with processing biological samples (if required) are not to be included in the biological sample unit rates.

The NEFSC age and growth laboratory processes all age samples at the Government’s expense, and no expenses other than those specified in the PWS for the collection and storage will be the responsibility of the contractor.

10. Please clarify that samples requiring lab analysis are provided by the Contractor to NOAA for processing in NOAA laboratory facilities.

Yes, samples collected by the contractor are processed by the NEFSC age and growth laboratory located in Woods Hole, MA.

11. Attachment 30 identifies items provided by the contractor and items supplied by the

Government. Item number 0033 is Electronic Biological Port Sampling Equipment. Can the Government list what this equipment consists of and provide the number of sets that will be supplied?

The electronic port sampling equipment provided by the Government includes, but is not limited to, an electronic length measurement board, and an electronic computer tablet capable of running the government’s proprietary software application for sampling. At the Government’s discretion an electronic scale may be provided to take individual weights and/or aggregate weights of sampled species. The number of sets supplied will be dependent on the strategy the provider proposes for accomplishing the tasked sampling needs.

12. CAR 1352.237-75 page 22 of the Solicitation lists 14 positions for key personnel. Page 80 of the solicitation states that "offerors may propose additional positions". May offerors propose fewer key personnel positions and still be in compliance with the solicitation?

Please see the revised CAR 1352.237-75 in Amendment 0002. The minimum key personnel requirements include a Project Manager, Project Management staff, and five

(5) Area Coordinators. The provided list of key personnel may be referenced as a suggestion. Offerors must consider regional needs and logistics, and plan for alternative Points of Contact (POCs) when the primary POC is unavailable. Proposals must include an explanation for the chosen labor mix and approach.

13. CAR 1352.228-70 part (e) on page 22 of the Solicitation describes vessel liability.

Under what circumstances will this insurance be required?

Because this requirement does not involve vessel procurement, CAR 1352.228-70(e) does not apply to this proposed contract.

14. Section C.4.2.4.1 on page 16 of the PWS states the Government will assume all shipping costs related to the mailing of observer paper logs and biological samples.

Section C.4.2.5.1, part 1 on page 18 indicates the cost of shipment for Biological Sampling Units should be considered in the price quote for the Biological Sampling Units. Can the Government confirm that shipping costs of the Port Biological Samples will not be covered by the Government and should be included as part of the sampling unit cost. Having different shipping methods for biological samples could be confusing, less efficient, and more costly for the government.

The Government confirms the shipping costs associated with Port Biological Samples will be covered by the Government and should not be included as part of the vendor’s price proposal.

15. Section C.4.1.3, page 5 of the PWS dictates the primary tasks of Area Coordinators and establishes a minimum of 75% of their time spent on these tasks. Is it permissible to assign Area Coordinators to this contract at less than full time? For example, could an employee be assigned to an Area Coordinator role 1/2 time, 960 hours if the cost is allocated as such and there was a way to track their time.

As long as the required tasks assigned to the Area Coordinator are completed, this approach is acceptable to the Government. The provider needs to ensure there is a secondary POC for times/days the Area Coordinator is not available.

16. Section C.4.1.2, page 5 of the PWS states: The project manager shall reside locally (e.g., at or nearby one of the major fishing ports…). Can the government define nearby, e.g. within 5, 10, 25, 50, 75 miles, and identify the preferred major fishing port for the project manager to reside nearby? If a preferred port cannot be provided, can the Government verify the following as the major fishing ports where the Project Manager should be located: New Bedford, Point Judith, Montauk, Cape May, Point Pleasant, and Gloucester.

Nearby is defined as within 50 miles of a primary fishing port. The Government confirms New Bedford, Point Judith, Montauk, Cape May, Point Pleasant, and Gloucester are considered major fishing ports.

17. Pg 3 in PWS Section C.2.1 states observers will collect data at sea and in port, at the docks or fish houses/dealer facilities, in order to increase sample collection efficiently.

To meet the NEFOP and NEPBSP goals, can the contractor assign one observer to collect data at sea on a trip for NEFOP, and then collect biological data for the NEPBSP in the fish house from the same trip's fish?

Samples for the NEPBSP shall be collected in a manner that prevents double-dipping or oversampling. Samples shall be collected in an unbiased manner that is representative of actual fishing activity. Duplicate samples are not permitted. It is the contractor’s responsibility to manage sample collection so as to not collect duplicate samples, or samples that do not meet the sample request unless otherwise allowed by the Government’s contract representative. Trips should not be sampled more than once, whether by sea or land.

18. On Pg 9, Section C.4.2.1, 3rd Paragraph, 3rd Sentence. "The collection of biological port sampling may occur at the dock or at-sea on deployed trips." Can the government define the protocol for port sampling when offshore on a vessel when no market category is established?

The Government will provide a formal list of fish species to the contract awardee that are dependent on market category. That list will dictate how (at-sea or land) select fish may be sampled.

19. Section C.5: deliverables, PWS- page 35 & 38: Is it possible for the Monthly status report to be due the same day or after the Invoice? The way the PWS is currently written, the monthly report is due before the invoice and the monthly report requires financials listed.

Yes, there is flexibility with reporting requirements. Specific changes to deliverables can be discussed at contract award.

20. NEPBSP section in PWS- attachments, page 61 and 69, How will duplicate samples and sample discrepancies be handled?

Duplicate samples are not permitted. It is the contractor’s responsibility to manage sample collection so as to not collect duplicate samples, or samples that do not meet the sample request unless otherwise allowed by the government’s contract representative. Errors, or other discrepancies, will be forwarded to the contractor for resolution in periodic audits of the sampling data or addressed directly by the Government through internal auditing. The contractor will be responsible to review the audits and make any updates or corrections necessary to and including replacing any samples that are deleted.

21. Section C.5: deliverables, PWS- page 35 & 37: Can the content in the bi-weekly port sampling blogs be incorporated in the monthly report?

Yes, there is flexibility with reporting requirements. Specific changes to deliverables can be discussed at contract award. However, the bi-weekly port sampling blogs are a requirement.

22. Is the cost of observer gear a reimbursable expense within training costs?

In accordance with the NEFOP Gear List, the Government will provide a portion of the gear and the contractor will provide the remaining required gear. The gear list is comprehensive. If additional gear is required then the Government will be responsible for purchasing it, and therefore there is no mechanism for gear reimbursement in the line items.

23. Is the cost of observer training fully billable within training costs? Are there any situations where the cost of an observer training (time, gear, meal per diem, lodging and travel) would not be billable?

Please review C.4.3.2. Training and Debriefings, which states “Training costs are…intended to include all costs associated with observer training…”. The provider may clarify with the Contracting Officer’s Representative if a particular expense is billable before incurring the expense if there is uncertainty.

24. Is the usage of long term rental houses a billable expense under travel costs? Would this be fully reimbursable or are there any specific requirements when utilizing this type of lodging?

No, the use of long term rental houses is not a billable expense.

25. Is the Sea Day number set for each year of this contract anticipated to be similar to the 2024 sea day numbers provided regarding the total sea day numbers and port locations?

The 2024 sea day schedule provided in the document titled Performance Work Statement (PWS) Attachments is an accurate representation of expected days.

However, the sea day schedule is subject to change annually based on scientific needs or budgetary considerations. The Government will provide as much notice as possible if changes are expected.

26. What items are billable under Hourly Rate Fisheries Observer I, II and III? Item Numbers; 0001 04, 0001 06 and 0001 08.

Only the fully burdened hourly rate for observers are included in these line items. Line items that have non-direct-billed items rolled into them are the Sea Day Observer Support Services line items (eg. 0001 01, 0001 02, 0001 03).

27. CAR 1352.215-70 Proposal Preparation (b) (2)(i)(c) Page 78 of the solicitation states the technical proposal must be double-spaced. Is double spacing required for the text of section headings if it extends to two lines? Is double spacing required between a section heading and the first line of the accompanying body text?

No, headings do not need to be double spaced, nor is it required between the section heading and the body text.

28. Will the government exclude resumes and the example Monthly Status Report from the double-spacing requirement?

Yes, neither resumes nor the Monthly Status Report example need to be double spaced.