18-02764_Statement_of_Work_RFQ.docx

Statement of Work National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)

1.0 Detailed Information

1.01 Background: A primary objective of the Alaska Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Research Plan is to characterize habitat utilization of juvenile fish life stages for areas where information is available but has not been analyzed. The goal of this project is to consolidate numerous nearshore fish datasets into an existing, centralized database from which ontogenetic shifts in the early life history of Fishery Management Plan (FMP) species can be determined from length data and incorporated into EFH models and maps. This project is structured as a 1-year project with an option for a second year pending continued funding. The first year will be to develop an expanded centralized database of nearshore catch data (beach seine and small trawl) and in the option year, upgrade the online Fish Atlas application, a customized platform with spatially explicit query tools and data summaries.

A core group of NMFS Auke Bay Laboratories (ABL) scientists has been surveying Alaska’s nearshore habitat using beach seine and trawl gear types for several decades. Both beach seine and trawl data from these efforts are stored in one centralized, relational database: the Nearshore Fish Atlas. This database contains catch data from 1998 to 2016 for more than 1,300 beach seine hauls and 249 nearshore bottom and midwater trawls. The beach seine portion of this database is accessible through the online Nearshore Fish Atlas application. Notably, there are additional nearshore datasets collected by other agencies and non-governmental organizations (e.g. USGS and University of Alaska) that could help broaden the data available on juvenile fish occurrence and habitat use. These additional datasets, in combination with recent ABL data from the Northern Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas, will greatly expand the amount of existing juvenile data available for developing EFH maps and models. It is our hope that the data integration will nearly triple the number of sampling events held in the database.

During FY18, the existing, centralized Nearshore Fish Atlas database will be expanded through the acquisition and integration of new data sources. During FY19 (option year if funded), the expanded Nearshore Fish Atlas database will be used to update the online Nearshore Fish Atlas application to accommodate trawl data, enhance functionality, and further streamline data accessibility for future platforms.

1.02 Objectives: The objectives of this contract are to carry out data acquisition and then data integration and quality control into the nearshore Fish Atlas database to researchers at ABL’s Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute (TSMRI). The optional year would further develop the database as an online application and data summaries. This is not simply a data management job, the offeror should have scientific knowledge of the data they are assimilating and how it can be organized and used for publications.

1.03 Scope/High-level Description:

The offeror shall be prepared to work both individually and in a team environment, working normal business hours, up to 8 hours per day, Monday through Friday at the Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute in Juneau, AK. The contractor must be familiar with fishing gear types, fishing effort (CPUE), fish life histories/stages, fish identification, data transformation, geodatabase design, data extraction, data summaries, and online data visualization. The offeror shall be proficient in the use of Microsoft Office software, R, Primer, and ArcGIS software packages. Data set must have quality control measures and meet agency policy of PARR (Public Access to Research Results) compliance.

1.04 Requirements: The task requirements are:

· Data acquisition – Datasets described below will be quality controlled and prepared for integration into the Nearshore Fish Atlas dataset. Nineteen datasets have been identified for potential integration into the centralized Nearshore Fish Atlas database and application. These source datasets contain nearshore fish data from the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, and Arctic fishery management areas. Collectively, these datasets span the same timeframe as the Nearshore Fish Atlas data and comprise approximately 1,430 beach seine hauls and 1,415 nearshore trawls. The datasets are managed by NMFS ABL, NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC), NMFS Newport, University of Alaska Fairbanks, U.S. Geological Survey, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Permissions have already been granted to integrate data from more than 75% of the 19 datasets.

· Once acquired, source datasets will be evaluated for quality. Quality control parameters will be unique to each dataset and will be developed in collaboration with the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC). Only high quality data will be integrated into the centralized database.

· Data integration – Integration of the new data sources into the centralized, Nearshore Fish Atlas database will occur using a 3-step extract, transform, and load (ETL) workflow.

· First, appropriate data (e.g., time and place of capture, gear, species, and fish lengths) will be extracted from the source dataset and saved to a temporary database along with source structures and relationships.

· Second, the extracted database will then be transformed into another temporary database that is consistent with the data structures, relationships, and semantics of the centralized database.

· Third, data from the transformed database and source-specific metadata (e.g., agency name, dataset name, and point of contact) will be loaded into existing tables of the centralized Nearshore Fish Atlas database. The ETL process will be repeated for each source dataset until all high-quality data are fully integrated into the Nearshore Fish Atlas database. We realize some datasets once acquired may not be good enough quality for integration.

· Make Data Available Online (Optional period tasks) – Fish Atlas programming and web platform - The online application of the Nearshore Fish Atlas has been a popular resource for NMFS biologists and many other researchers who have relied on this public database to gain knowledge about the distribution, relative abundance, and habitat use of nearshore fishes in Alaska. The accommodation of multiple data sources and new gear types will require modifications to the user interface and behind-the-scenes query engine of the Nearshore Fish Atlas application. Because these changes will require considerable design, coding, and debugging efforts, we are against implementing them into the existing application. The current software platform on which the Nearshore Fish Atlas application was built several years ago is no longer supported by many devices and is fast becoming obsolete. The application will be upgraded to a modern platform that has complete browser compatibility with data portals such as ShoreZone and AOOS. The upgraded platform will have a rebuilt user interface and query engine.

· Summary results of the expanded Fish Atlas database for publication (Optional period task) – Query the expanded database to produce basic summary tables similar to, but somewhat reduced in scope as Johnson et. al. 2012 (Atlas of nearshore fishes of Alaska. NMFS-AF-SC-239).

1.05 Deliverables:

· Quality control and ingestion of 19 datasets described in the above tasks into the Nearshore Fish Atlas database. If a dataset is not available in a timely manner from the data owner OR does not pass quality control, the final number of datasets to be ingested shall be adjusted and approved by the technical point of contact.

· An update and upgrade of the public Fish Atlas application online to include all new datasets and compatibility with ShoreZone and AOOS platforms. These upgrades will also allow for producing basic data summaries of the database for a publication.

1.06 Constraints:

· Some datasets, once acquired, may not be good enough quality for integration.

· Future budgets are unknown and may impact the successful continuation or completion of this statement of objectives.

· General government participation and involvement may be limited due to other competing corporate priorities

1.07 Period of Performance: The period of performance shall be for one (1) Base Year of 12 months and one (1) 12-month option year. The Period of Performance reads as follows:

1.08 Place of Performance:

Auke Bay Laboratories Ted Stevens Marine R.I.

17109 PR. Lena Loop Rd Juneau, AK 99801-8344

1.09 Type of Order: The government anticipates award of a Firm Fixed Price (FFP).

1.010 Hours of Operation/Place of Performance: The contractor is responsible for performing during business hours Monday through Friday except during facility closures. All work will be performed at ABL.

1.011 Recognized Holidays

In addition to the days designated as holidays, the Government observes the following days:

Any other day designated by Federal Statute Any other day designated by Executive Order Any other day designated by a President's Proclamation

It is understood and agreed between the Government and the contractor that observance of such days by Government personnel shall not otherwise be a reason for an additional period of performance, or entitlement to compensation except as set forth within the contract.

Nothing in this clause abrogates the rights and responsibilities of the parties relating to "stop work" provisions as cited in other sections of this contract.

1.012 Security Requirements:

1.0120 The systems supported under this task are Low security.

1.0121 Suitability/Risk Level - The suitability or risk level for this work has been determined to be: Low. As such, the contractor shall pre-screen their employees to eliminate anyone who does not meet the following criteria: The prospective employees must be U.S. Citizens and Foreign Nationals.

1.013 Quality Assurance: The contractor shall ensure quality assurance in accordance with the approved QAP as applicable to the services performed in accordance with this SOW. The contractor shall develop and implement procedures specific to this requirement to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. The contractor’s quality assurance program is the means by which he assures himself that his work complies with the requirement of the task order. At a minimum, the contractor shall develop quality assurance procedures that address the areas identified in Technical Exhibit 1, “Performance Requirements Summary.”

Quality Assurance Surveillance: The government shall evaluate the contractor’s performance under this task order in accordance with the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. This plan is primarily focused on what the Government must do to ensure that the contractor has performed in accordance with the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable defect rate(s).

Government Remedies: The contracting officer shall pursue remedies for the contractor’s failure to perform satisfactory services or failure to correct non-conforming services in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract.

QUALIFICATIONS

Minimum requirements (only bids meeting these requirements will be considered):

· Bachelor’s Degree in Biology or related field;

· College courses in ichthyology, fisheries oceanography, physiology of fishes; scientific writing preferred.

Knowledge and experience for evaluation includes the following criteria in descending order of importance:

· A minimum of five-years of experience developing relational databases for scientific data;

· A minimum of five-years of experience developing and performing quality control procedures on scientific data;

· A minimum of seven-years of experience organizing and summarizing scientific data using Microsoft Office software, R, Primer, and ArcGIS Desktop;

· Familiarity with the organization and content of the Nearshore Fish Atlas application (www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov) and knowledge of Mircrosoft Access database structures.

· Preference will be given to offerors with documented data management experience with the nearshore fish atlas application.

· A minimum of five-years of experience capturing nearshore marine fishes in Alaska with small-mesh trawls and/or beach seines;

· Offeror will be acquiring data from all types of gear and must have an understanding of how that gear fishes including how it is specialized to catch different age classes, species, etc., and how to normalize data between gear types.

· A minimum of five-years of experience identifying juvenile fish in the marine nearshore environment of the North Pacific;

· Offeror will verify that species nomenclature and distributions are current, correct, and that identifications were properly made by the data owners.

· Understanding of the overall NOAA Fisheries Science Plan and the relevance of commercially and ecologically important FMP species, Large Marine Ecosystems, and Essential Fish Habitat in Alaska;

· The Fish Atlas will be organized into queries designed to summarize data into groupings such as: those species under FMP, within each LME in AK, and EFH levels as dictated by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Understanding of these definitions is integral to how the data is organized and ultimately useful for informing agency resource managers (e.g. NPRMC).

· Demonstrated ability to perform species assemblage analyses including CPUE, frequency of occurrence, diversity indices, and clustering;

· Demonstrated experience co-authoring scientific publications on Alaska nearshore fishes;

· By having published on AK nearshore fishes the offeror has demonstrated an ability to understand the data, the format it needs to be in, and how it will be used. The basic data summaries provided by this contract will be fundamental for fisheries publications by the technical point of contact.

GOVERNMENT PROVIDED

Auke Bay Laboratories will provide the following equipment/supplies necessary for the functions of this contract: in house office space, computer, and software for data entry and database development.

General Conditions

1. EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS

Government will provide work station, computer and equipment necessary to perform all functions of this Contract,

2. DAMAGE

The Government will not be responsible in any way for damage occasioned by fire, theft, accident or otherwise, to the Contractor's personal belongings brought into the facilities provided by the Government.

3. INSURANCE COVERAGE

The contractor will be responsible for providing their own workman's compensation and health insurance. The government will not be responsible for providing insurance. The contractor must show proof of workman's compensation insurance if requested by either TPOC, or Contracting Officer. If the contractor will be performing work on a vessel or in the field or field camp, the government takes no responsibility in event of injury. If the contractor has not obtained workman's compensation insurance, the government takes no responsibility in event of injury. This is solely the responsibility of the Contractor.

4. PERFORMANCE OF WORK

5. WORKMANSHIP

The work involved in this contract must be performed accurately, on a timely basis, and with close adherence to established guidelines.

TRAINING

Mandatory Government trainings including but not limited to NOAA IT Security Awareness training, Telework training, GSA Vehicle (if applicable) and other security and safety trainings may be approved at the TPOC level, via the CO, on an as needed basis. Contractor may bill for hours that involve mandatory IT Security related government training.

Training must be relevant to the specific tasks within this Statement of Work. Training may be taken if training is procured at a per class rate and if seats are available after all government employees have finished signing up. If training is procured at a per seat rate, you may pay for a seat in the training by paying the vendor directly and the vendor not charging the government for that seat. The government will not pay for your seat in a training in a per seat format. You may not invoice for hours spent in optional training that is taken.

IT REQUIREMENTS

This order will require assignment of a permanent user account, access to DOC data or systems. This 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’s premises for more than 365 calendar days. IT security consideration and controls will be put in place before commencement of service.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITY

The TPOC or her designee shall be available during normal working hours to provide guidance to the Contractor in performance of the contract tasks. Written manuals of standard operating procedures are available for many, but not all tasks and are available for inspection by the Contractor; only the basic processing concepts are described above. The TPOC shall regularly inspect the work of the Contractor, during performance and after completion, to ensure that acceptable procedures and standards of workmanship are being adhered to and to avoid potential misunderstandings.

SECURITY

The Government shall provide to the Contractor an electronic key card to access laboratory building only. Contractor shall follow on-site security protocols, such as wearing government identification, signing in and out daily, and maintaining locked doors. Contractor will be required to a) complete the complex Security Screening eQuip process to gain building access, and b) complete the NOAA on-line IT Security Training, Lab Safety Training, marine safety drills, and other security tasks.

DEFINITIONS & ACRONYMS

· Defective Service. A service output that does not meet the standard of performance associated with it in the Performance Work Statement.

· Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). An organized written document specifying the surveillance methodology to be used for surveillance of contractor performance to assure services meets the requirements of the Performance Work Statement.

· Quality Assurance. Those actions taken by a contractor to control the performance of services so that they meet the requirements of the PWS

· EFH – Essential Fish Habitat

· NOAA – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

· FMP - Fishery Management Plan

· NMFS – National Marine Fisheries Service

· ABL – Auke Bay Laboratories

· AOOS – Alaska Ocean Observing System

· USGS – United States Geological Service

· ADFG – Alaska Department of Fish and Game