CNMI Commercial Fisheries Bio-sampling

The contract is required to conduct a commercial fisheries Bio-sampling field sampling project on Saipan, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. The contract will allow the Insular Fisheries Monitoring Program, Fisheries Research & Monitoring Division's Commercial Fisheries Bio-sampling Field Sampling Project, NOAA Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center, to accomplish its mission of sustainably managing marine fisheries in the Pacific Islands Region.

The CFBS biological monitoring program is comprised of two linked components:
1) A Field Sampling Program (CFBS-FSP), which collects data and samples via direct outreach to markets and fishermen
2) A Laboratory-Based Life History Program (CFBS-LHP), that conducts the work of elaborating detailed life history reports for a subset of species, selected from the whole fishery.

This contract supports implementation of a CFBS-FSP that meets the MSRA data requirements for major fisheries and commercially important species in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). This Scope of Work relates solely to the Field Sampling component, which includes:
 Opportunistic sampling of existing commercial fisheries in the CNMI at the level of individual fishermen's catches
 Collecting trip-level data on fishing effort by gear type and location for Saipan, as well as landings on Saipan from other islands of the CNMI
 Opportunistically collecting data on fishing activity and catches from Rota, Tinian and the more remote CNMI.
 Representative length-frequency data collection on whole catches by fishery or gear type
 Species identification to the lowest possible taxon
 Accumulation of representative length and weight data for the full size range of all species caught, to determine allometric growth curves, used in estimating the weight of catch by species.
 Accumulation of samples for species selected in collaboration with the CFBS-LHP for subsequent determination of:
• growth rate (age and weight-at-length data)
• size at sexual maturity
• fecundity
• spawning seasonality

A comprehensive list of actual requirements will be included in the Performance Work Statement within the solicitation package document.

The proposed contract action is set-aside for small business. The NAICS code for this procurement is 541620 and the business size standard for this requirement is $15 million. It is highly encouraged that any vendor meeting this size standard and desiring to be considered for award be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) using this NAICS code or a NAICS code with an equivalent size standard. For additional information and to register in SAM, please access the following web site: www.sam.gov. In order to register with the SAM, all offerors must also have a Dun & Bradstreet Number. A Dun & Bradstreet number may be acquired free of charge by contacting Dun & Bradstreet on-line at https://iupdate.dnb.com/iUpdate/viewiUpdateHome.htm or by phone at (866) 969-8491. It is also preferred that offerors to complete the electronic representations and certifications at the SAM website.

Any resulting contract will be awarded as an IDIQ type contract. Solicitation documents will be made available for download on or about March 6, 2018 at http://www.fbo.gov/. Paper copies of this solicitation will not be issued. Interested parties should use the FedBizOpps [Add to Watchlist] and [Add Me to Interested Vendors] features which provide a notification when the Request for Quote (RFQ) becomes available for download as well as all postings of information associated with this solicitation thereafter. Each potential offeror is responsible for checking the FedBizOpps website to gain all current information related to the solicitation. The solicitation and any further announcements regarding the solicitation will be posted only at http://www.fbo.gov/. The date offers are due will be stated within the solicitation documents and will be adjusted based upon the actual release date of the solicitation. All questions of any nature regarding this procurement should be sent in writing to the Contract Specialist, Noah Nielsen at noah.nielsen@noaa.gov.