REQUIREMENTS-26-3045 JOFOC FE__Redacted.pdf

Version 5.0 June 2026

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

USING SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR THE ACQUISITION OF COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS

AND SERVICES EXCEEDING THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

AUTHORITY: 41 U.S.C. 1901(a)(1)

IDENTIFICATION NUMBER: REQUIREMENTS-26-3045

1. Identification of the agency and contracting activity.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Western Acquisition Division (WAD), proposes to enter into a contract on the basis of other than full and open competition using simplified procedures for cloud support services and management of the Environmental Monitors on Lobster Traps and Large Trawlers program, which are commercial services in support of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), Northeast Cooperative Research Branch (NECRB).

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved.

NOAA intends to award a follow-on contract to the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation (GOMLF). A sole source contract is contemplated for award.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

The requirement is to provide installation of science equipment on fishing boats, data collection, and data transmission located at fishing ports between Maine and North Carolina. The services assist in facilitating the coordination, outreach, and technical support for over 150 fishing vessels with environmental monitoring systems used during routine fishing operations. The estimated total cost is with an overall period of performance of September 22, 2026 through September 21, 2031, including four (4) 1-year options. This will allow the NEFSC, NECRB to accomplish its mission of environmental monitoring of lobster traps and large trawlers.

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

The statutory authority permitting this sole source acquisition is 41 U.S.C. 1901, using simplified procedures up to $9M, in accordance with Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul

(RFO) 12.201-1.

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires using the authority cited.

Only one source - GOMLF is the only source capable of providing the services required at the level of quality required because the services are unique or highly specialized. The effort requires compatibility to existing hardware, data programming and exclusive data access.

The GOMLF (a non-profit with its board of directors composed of commercial fishermen), fishermen and various state entities, including the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (MA), have been working together to collect data for the eMOLT program and its various program iterations since 1995. This requirement builds on the progress of the previous contract, 1305M324P0522, which relies on over 20 years of trust between the interested parties to allow for fishermen to voluntarily collect and provide data that the GOMLF formats, organizes and aggregates in order for state and federal entities to use for a variety of purposes. Some of these purposes are in support of datasets for regulatory purposes and in support of the U.S.

Coast Guard. The eMOLT program uses specialized hardware, currently purchased by fishermen, and open-source software to collect environmental data from sensorized commercial fishing gear. GOMLF provides specialized services by continuing to actively develop the software alongside instrument manufacturers to ensure seamless integration between newly emerging market sensors and the existing ocean observing data system. This approach to ocean observing is unique in the United States. While other programs rely on fishermen deploying instruments during fishing operations, no other program allows for autonomous sensor deployment, offloading, display, and data delivery.

While the hardware is currently supplied through MA to approved fishing vessels, GOMLF is the owner of the data collected through the eMOLT program and acts as the sole aggregator and steward for the program’s data. GOMLF has developed and configured data pipelines and has programed the existing hardware to feed differing data streams. Through GOMLF’s stewardship, Fishermen can then access high resolution data from their own vessels through a GOMLF password-protected portal, while all other users can access anonymized, aggregated (daily averaged) bottom data and profile data. Some NOAA Fisheries staff possess authorized access to the full data to develop data products for inclusion in regional ocean forecast models, fisheries stock assessments, and other scientific endeavors as well as provide analytical support to fishing industry partners.

The data aggregated by GOMLF has many uses. For example, data from the eMOLT Program are assimilated into several marine forecasts in the Northeastern United States, including those used by fishermen to plan efficient trips and used by the United States Coast Guard to plan search and rescue operations. In 2025 after a major expansion in the eMOLT Program funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, data from the eMOLT Program made up 92% of all subsurface temperature data assimilated into the Doppio forecast system (run at Rutgers University and used by the USCG). From 2024-2025 the Doppio forecast experienced a 152% increase in subsurface water temperature observations, leading to a 10.5% improvement in goodness of fit, a 4.7% improvement in the average magnitude of the differences between values predicted by the forecast and the actual observed values, and an 84.8% improvement in model bias. Forecasts generally use a 72–96-hour assimilation window, so even short delays in service can be expected to measurably decrease model performance.

In conclusion, the GOMLF is the only source capable of providing the support services to the eMOLT program, and failing to award this action would trigger a critical loss of trust within the commercial fishing industry that has taken decades to build. In addition, contracting with another partner would result in substantial inefficiencies and rebuilding the entire system from the ground up would likely result in data delivery delays on the order of 2-4 years for installation of new hardware plus additional time to build data pipelines and reprogram of all existing hardware to feed entirely new data streams. Since the data collected by participating commercial fishermen is purely voluntary, there is no reliable metric to quantify the length of time necessary to rebuild trust with the fishing industry and no guarantee that the fishermen would adopt new hardware from a non-trusted source. This would cause unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements. If the GOMLF is not awarded this contract, the NOAA Fisheries mission would be significantly impacted without access to the data and would lose access to approximately 10 years of aggregate data.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as possible, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR Part 5 and, if not, which exception under FAR Part 5 applies.

In accordance with RFO 5.101, a Notice of Intent to Sole Source has been posted by the WAD to SAM.gov on June 25, 2026, and closed on July 10, 2026. No responses were received.

7. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The contracting officer determines that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based on comparison with the Independent Government Estimate (IGE). Prior to award of the proposed contract, price information shall be obtained from the contractor and a price analysis will be performed and documented to sufficiently determine that the cost to the Government of the proposed acquisition will be fair and reasonable.

8. The market research conducted (see FAR Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

Market research was conducted by the NEFSC and WAD to identify available sources and to evaluate the availability of the marketplace to meet the requirement. Based on the results of market research, the government determined GOMLF is the only source available that possesses the capability to meet the proposed requirement. The results of the market research are detailed in the Market Research Report (MRR) (a copy can be found in the contract file).

9. Any other facts supporting using other than full and open competition.

All facts have been documented herein. There are no additional facts to be reported in this section.

10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in the acquisition in writing.

No sources indicated an interest after 15 days as a result of the Notice of Intent to Sole Source posted to SAM.gov on June 26, 2026.

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

The Government will conduct market research annually to gauge any changes to the marketplace regarding capabilities for future requirements. This requirement is for ongoing services and is expected to be recompeted in five (5) years. If additional sources become available during that time, the Government will seek competition for future acquisitions for these services.