Sole Source Justification - REDACTED.pdf

Version 2.0 19Aug2020

SINGLE SOURCE DETERMINATION USING

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES (SAP)

FOR AN ACTION NOT EXCEEDING THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

(AUTHORITY: FAR 13.106-1(b)(1))

Requirement 24-3973

1. Agency and contracting activity. Department of Commerce, NOAA Acquisition and Grants Office

(AGO), Fisheries OMB Field Delegates and Southeast Fisheries Science Center.

2. Description of supplies or services required to meet agency needs (including the estimated value).

The objective of this proposed work is to use an innovative digital imaging system with machine learning software to develop a suite of seasonal/annual indices for over 40 zooplankton taxonomic groups, as well as other zooplankton community metrics (e.g., diversity, size spectra, carbon content) that may reflect ecosystem status. The proposed work expands the utility of data already collected by the Southeast Area and Monitoring Assessment Program (SEAMAP) plankton surveys, and directly addresses the recommendations of the most recent Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Status Report. The data produced from this project will be used to examine the use of zooplankton taxa to track changes in the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem using both historical and future samples. The proposed work is also related to several strategies outlined in the NOAA Fisheries Strategic Plan 2022-2025, including "1.2 Advance climate science and ecosystem-based fishery management (EBFM) to increase the sustainability of marine fisheries", "1.4 Diversify our data collection technologies and expand/modernize data products and services" and "2.3 Expand the use of advanced and innovative technologies".

The work conducted by the University of Louisiana-Lafayette’s (ULL) Zooplankton Ecology Lab will involve using a ZooScan system and accompanying software to analyze over 2000 zooplankton samples from the SEAMAP archive. The Zooplankton Ecology Lab at ULL run by Dr. Kelly Robinson has two ZooScan systems and personnel with the skill set to process these samples producing taxonomic information, size spectra, and carbon content data from the 2011-2019 timeseries. The estimated cost of processing and analyzing these samples is (Year 1:

, Year 2: ) for 24 months (September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2026).

3. Identification of the single source or the brand name to be solicited.

Dr. Kelly Robinson University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Department of Biology 410 E. St. Mary Blvd.

Billeaud Hall, Room 105 Lafayette, LA 70503 Office: 337 482 5705 kelly.robinson@louisiana.edu

4. Supporting rationale. Only one source or brand name is reasonably available as detailed below:

□ Compatibility to existing systems or equipment - The required supplies must be compatible in all aspects (form, fit, and function) with existing systems or equipment, and the source is uniquely qualified to meet the requirement.

The importance of the data produced by this project is that is follows protocols and format set forth by past NOAA Fisheries zooplankton imaging projects at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC). Therefore, it is necessary to emphasize the need to choose a