Genomics of Low Thiamine Tolerance in Lake Trout

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) hereby submits a Notice of Intent (NOI) to inform industry contractors of the Government's intent to award a sole source, firm-fixed priced contract to The Research Foundation for the State University of New York located in Amherst, New York to compile data describing genomic diversity related to thiamine metabolism and processes among multiple lake trout populations.

This contract action is for non-commercial services under NAICS code 541715, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) for which the agency intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under Authority, 6.302-1 and FAR 13.106-1(b), Simplified Acquisition procedures.

This project is the result of an unsolicited proposal to assist FWS in collecting and compiling data to inform FWS native species program work to restore Lake Trout in Lake Ontario. Without this data, FWS is unable to determine if the current hatchery strains are capable of adapting to the low thiamine conditions currently impeding Lake Trout recruitment in Lake Ontario. This service will give FWS the information it needs to proceed towards the reestablishment of a self-sustaining population of Lake Trout in Lake Ontario.

The Contractor has extensive experience sequencing and computationally analyzing fishes with large, complex genomes. Additionally, the Contractor has Oxford Nanopore Technology sequencing machines that can perform long-read sequencing that is highly advantageous when working with organisms with complex genomes, such as Lake trout. Furthermore, the Contractor has lab protocols, established analytical pipelines, and computational infrastructure required to perform this work available in their laboratory.

FWS anticipates an award in late November 2023 with a proposed period of performance of two years with an estimated total contract value of $100,000.

This announcement constitutes the only notice. This is not a request for competitive quotes. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, which must demonstrate clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government and would not be cost or time prohibitive. Responses received from this solicitation will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. A determination by the agency not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the agency.

Questions or comments to this NOI should be directed to Contracting Officer, Ryna Russell at ryna_russell@fws.gov no later than 11:00am, EST, Wednesday, 11/22/2023. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. Please indicate in the subject of your email: Notice of Intent Capability Statement Submission ¿ DOIFFBO240016.