Charter for california current ecosystem survey – nearshore sampling

This is a request for information only and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued or awarded. This is not a solicitation.  This is not a Request for Quote (RFQ), Invitation for Bid (IFB), Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Application (RFA) or announcement of a solicitation, and does not assume the Government will award a contract or proceed with any of the above solicitation efforts in the near future. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect cost or charges by the Government will arise as a result of the submission of information.  All information considered proprietary shall be marked accordingly, and properly identified proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with federal regulations. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for improperly identified proprietary information. The purpose of this announcement is solely to gather information from the marketplace, and any responses received will neither be considered an offer by the responding party nor returned to the responding party. No telephone inquiries will be accepted, and requests for solicitation packages will not be honored at this time since no solicitation has been prepared.

Synopsis: Sources Sought

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC), of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is conducting market research for the purpose of identifying businesses that have demonstrated capability to conducts annual or bi-annual acoustic-trawl- method (ATM) surveys to estimate the biomasses and demographics of coastal pelagic fish species (CPS) in the California Current Ecosystem (CCE).

The vendor shall secure Purse-Seine Vessel (PSV) charter and provide all required services and vendor technician(s). Specific objectives are to collect nearshore echosounder and net-catch data along established transect lines in conjunction with NOAA vessel FSV Rueben Lasker (Lasker) as close to shore as safely possible, and as close in time as possible (not to exceed +- 7 days from the date of survey by the Lakser) in waters from Bodega Bay, CA, south to the U.S.-Mexico border including Santa Cruz and Santa Catalina Islands.

This sampling is to be conducted concomitantly with Lasker's sampling between July 3, 2023 and October 1, 2023, dependent upon Lasker survey schedule with four option years.

The minimum specifications for the vessel are:

1. The chartered Purse Seine Vessel (PSV) shall be of sufficient size and draft to conduct described work and be a minimum of 45’ length overall.
2. The equipment shall be provided by vendor or charter vessel to conduct purse seine collection of CPS using a net 200 m-long x 27 m-deep net with 17 mm-wide mesh.
3. PSV shall be equipped with infrastructure suitable for mounting and deployment of complete SIMRAD EK60 echosounder system including transducer side-pole assembly.
4. Minimum required electronics include Furuno 250 sonar, GPS plotter with updated maps, VHF radio, and ship-to-shore communications device.
5. Vessel shall be equipped with and utilize AIS during survey activities. At least two 110v outlets shall be provided in working areas inside the deckhouse.
6. PSV must be able to accommodate a complete GFE acoustic echosounder system with custom 4 frequency transducer side pole assembly.

Required Knowledge and Experience:

Purse Seine Vessel shall have a USCG licensed vessel captain with 5+ years of experience using a purse seine to collect CPS.

1. Vendor technician contracted biologist must be experienced in the operation of, and data collection using SIMRAD EK60 echosounder system GFE.

INFORMATION REQUESTED:

The Government is requesting that all interested vendors provide information regarding their experience and capability to provide a qualified crew and eligible vessel. 

NOAA may utilize the responses to this Sources Sought to conduct additional market research.  Information obtained from this Sources Sought, and the subsequent communication with the vendors, if any, may be utilized to assist NOAA in developing a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Quote (RFQ).

In addition to addressing technical capabilities, responses must include the following:

• Name and address of firm
• Size of business (e.g. small, small disadvantaged business, woman owned, etc.)
• Average annual revenue for the past 3 years and number of employees
• Ownership
• Number of years in business
• Affiliate information
• Parent company, joint venture partners, potential teaming partners, prime contractor (if potential subcontractor) or subcontractors (if potential prime contractor)
• Point of contact - address and phone number

SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS:

Telephone responses are NOT solicited and will not be accepted.  No solicitation exists at this time.  This synopsis is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to award a contract, nor will the Government pay for the solicited information.

Please submit your response to the attention of the Contracting Specialist, Ms. Amanda Leal (Amanda.Leal@noaa.gov) no later than March 28, 2023 at 10:00 a.m., Pacific Time. Each response shall be no more than 15 single-sided, single-spaced pages (excluding the cover page), and each page shall be separately numbered, and shall be in .pdf format.