Sources Sought - Lake Trout Suppression Gillnetting Services

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

Swan Lake - Lake Trout Suppression Gillnetting Services

Agency: U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Acquisition & Property Management, Servicing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

NAICS: 114111 - Finfish Fishing (Size Standard: $24.0M).

Estimated Period of Performance: June 1-March 31, 2027, including required netting July 13-17, 2026.

Place of Performance: Swan Lake, Lake County, MT; net delivery/rebuild at Creston NFH or Contractor facility as proposed.

THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. This notice is issued solely for market research purposes.

1. Introduction: This is a Sources Sought Notice issued for market research purposes only. This is not a solicitation and does not constitute a request for proposals, quotes, or bids. The Government is seeking to identify all entities capable of performing lake trout suppression gillnetting services.

2. Requirement Overview: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service supports recovery of threatened Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) within the Columbia Headwaters Recovery Unit. Lake trout predation and competition have contributed to bull trout decline in Swan Lake. Since 2016, lake trout abundance has increased while bull trout redd counts declined. Intensive gillnet suppression is required to slow or reverse these trends. Following gillnetting, used gillnets must be restrung/reconstructed to original specifications for future use.

3. Scope of Work
The contractor shall:
- Conduct daily gillnet deployment/retrieval (M-F) at Swan Lake during the period July 13-17, 2026.
- Provide data collection support (catch, locations, net type, biomass) and effort quantification.
- Minimize bull trout bycatch and mortality using a recovery tank with supplemental oxygen, bubbler, and suitably cold water.

Gillnet Reconstruction / Restringing:
- Restore USFWS provided gillnets to original specifications (mesh sizes, panel lengths, hanging ratios).
- Juvenile nets (6' x 300'): custom hanging; 8" phrases/ties max; 1/4" diameter lead line (30# core); 1/2" diameter poly foam line (floats every 6'); 1/4" hollow core poly breast/bridle lines; 0.10-0.175 mm monofilament twine (USFWS-specified); mesh sizes 1.5" to 3.0" in 1/2" increments; offered as new or refill reconditioned (new twine on existing lead/float/bridle lines).
- Adult nets (12' x 300'): custom hanging; 8" phrases/ties max; 1/4" diameter lead line (30# core); 1/2" diameter poly line (floats every 6'); 1/4" hollow core poly breast/bridle lines; 0.23 mm monofilament twine (white); mesh sizes 4.0" to 5.5" in 1/2" increments; offered as new or refill reconditioned (new twine on existing lines).
- Delivery: Nets to be delivered/re-delivered to Creston National Fish Hatchery, Creston, MT, or shipped to USFWS offices as directed.

Government Furnished:
- Buoys, anchors, gillnets; MTFWP technician aboard to collect biological data.

Contractor Furnished:
- Gillnetting vessel, all operational equipment, recovery tank with supplemental oxygen, bubblers; all materials and tooling required to restring/reconstruct nets timely.

Performance Metrics (PRS/QASP):
- Deploy/retrieve all assigned nets daily (unless unsafe) during July 13-17.
- Achieve or identify effort required to meet biomass removal targets: ~2.0 kg/ha adult lake trout; ~1.5 kg/ha juvenile.
- Maintain bull trout bycatch mortality below USFWS/MTFWP threshold.
- Reconstruct/restring all nets to original specifications (100% compliance).

4. Specialized Qualifications
- Demonstrated expertise in lake trout gillnetting operations comparable in complexity and environment.
- Experience handling bull trout and minimizing bycatch mortality, including use of recovery tanks with oxygen supplementation.
- Proven capability to hang/restring gillnets to custom hanging ratios, twine diameters, mesh ranges, and phrase/tie requirements specified above (including refill reconditioned construction using existing lead/float/bridle lines).
- Ability to operate safely on Swan Lake conditions during daylight/operational hours (M-F).

5. Submission Requirements
Interested parties are invited to submit a capability statement (no more than 5 pages) that includes:

- Company Information
- Name, address, UEI, business size status (e.g., Small Business, WOSB, HUBZone, etc.)

- Technical Capability
- Narrative describing experience with lake trout gillnet suppression (or similar inland lake finfish suppression), including description of handling protocols, net placement strategies, and bycatch minimization
- Detailed capability to string/restring/reconstruct nets meeting the exact specifications

- Personnel & Equipment
- Vessel specifications
- Net shop / stringing facility capabilities

6. Submission Instructions
Responses are due by May 7, 2026, at 1PM Central Time. Capability statements must be submitted by e-mail ONLY as an Adobe PDF attachment to: Dana Arnold at dana_arnold@ios.doi.gov.

Include the subject line:
"Sources Sought - Swan Lake Gillnet Suppression & Net Re stringing"

If parties choose to respond, any cost associated with preparation and submission of data or any other cost incurred in response to this announcement are the sole responsibility of the respondent and will not be reimbursed by the Government.