Foreign Nations Commercial Fishing Regulatory Programs

Synopsis:  Notice of Intent To Award A Sole-Source Contract

Announcement Number:  NFFKAA00-20-02163

Project Title:   Foreign Nations Commercial Fishing Regulatory Programs
 

The US Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Region Acquisition Division, Simplified Acquisition Branch intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with Ocean Associates, Inc. using the procedures in FAR Part 13, to provide support in reviewing foreign nations commercial fishing regulatory programs.

The National Marine Fisheries Service Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection (NMFS/IASI) implements the international provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).  Under the MMPA, NMFS/IASI will review the regulatory programs implemented by foreign nations exporting fish to the United States to evaluate how those programs address injury and mortality of marine mammals in commercial fishing, including bycatch and intentional killing. This review will support the comparability finding analyses to determine if foreign regulatory programs are comparable in effectiveness to U.S. programs. IASI is seeking support to review the documents provided by foreign nations to ascertain 1) if these nations have a regulatory program in place to address the intentional and incidental mortality and injury of marine mammals in the course of commercial fishing operations; or 2) assist in the development of tools to support the calculation of abundance or bycatch limits. IASI is also seeking support to develop a streamlined analytical framework that will aid in the review of the comparability applications to assist IASI in making comparability findings.

The statutory authority for other than full and open competition is FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i), Only one responsible source.

The North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) for this acquisition is 541690 with a business size standard of $16.5M.

This is not a solicitation for competitive quotes, nor will one be posted on Contract Opportunities.

Although a determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.  However, if any interested party believes that it is capable of meeting the requirements, and in an effort to comply with the requirements outlined in FAR 5.102, a firm may request an electronic copy of the solicitation from the Contract Specialist, Kelly Parr, (Kelly.Parr@noaa.gov)  

All electronic correspondence shall have the subject line read: 

Announcement Number: NFFKAA00-20-02163

Project Title: Foreign Nations Commercial Fishing Regulatory Programs

All responsible sources may submit a Capability Statement and/or a quote in accordance with the solicitation, which shall be considered by the agency if received on or before 4:00 PM EDT on July 24, 2020.  The Capability Statement must contain material in sufficient detail to allow NOAA to determine if the party can meet all of the requirements. 

The notice will remain open from 7/09/2020 to 7/24/2020.