Southeast Right Whale Early Warning System

Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

NOAA FISHERIES, Southeast Regional Office, Protected Resources Division

Southeast Right Whale Early Warning System Recompete

INTRODUCTION

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT ONLY.

This Sources Sought is issued solely for information and market research planning purposes; it does not constitute a solicitation or a promise to issue a solicitation. This notice does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is not seeking proposals at this time. Respondents are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay any costs incurred in response to this notice. All costs associated with responding to this notice will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this notice does not preclude participation in any future solicitation.

The information provided in this notice is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. All submissions become the property of the Federal Government, and will not be returned. Any information that the vendor considers proprietary should be clearly marked as such.

REQUIREMENT

Management of marine mammal populations falls within the jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972 and, for right whales, under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. NMFS Southeast Region (SER) is responsible for the management of marine mammals, including North Atlantic right whales, from North Carolina to Texas including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The North Atlantic right whale population is highly endangered. Aerial surveys, funded jointly by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Coast Guard (CG), and NMFS, are one integral piece of what is referred to as the larger Southeastern United States (SEUS) Early Warning System (EWS). These aerial surveys are flown from Cape Canaveral, FL to Savannah, GA to locate right whales within the core winter calving area. Sightings of right whales are entered into the EWS communication network and relayed directly or indirectly to marine users consistent with EWS Aerial Survey Protocols.

PURPOSE

To identify sources capable of performing the following objectives:

1. Use aerial survey methods to detect and monitor the subset of the North Atlantic right whale population that migrates seasonally to the SEUS.
2. Use established photographic identification techniques to collect photographs for use in photo-identification of individual whales.
3. Communicate sighting locations to federal and other marine users consistent with Early Warning System (EWS) Aerial Survey Protocols.
4. Detect, monitor and respond to reports of entangled, injured and dead right whales.
5. Detect and monitor human-caused threats to right whales and their habitat.

This data collection and notification effort will complement other right whale-related data collection activities conducted along the U.S. East Coast.

A draft Statement of Work (SOW) is provided for informational purposes. 

RESPONSE DEADLINE AND REQUESTED INFORMATION

Respondents are encouraged to prepare a brief, no more than three (3) page capabilities statement addressing its capabilities to perform the requirements in the draft SOW. Responses to this notice shall be submitted by 3:00 PM Eastern Time on February 7, 2025 to:

• Contracting Officer, Grace Parker, at grace.parker@noaa.gov 
• Contract Specialist, Kristina Kolata, at kristina.kolata@noaa.gov 

At a minimum, the response shall include:

1. Company Name 
2. Single point-of-contact name and email address.
3. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) for the interested source. Please note that offerors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at SAM.gov at the time an offer or quotation is submitted in order to comply with the annual representations and certifications requirements. 
4. Indication whether your firm qualifies as a small business under NAICS Code 541370 - Aerial surveying (except geophysical) services, which has a size standard of $19M in annual receipts.

Contractors may provide any other information determined to be important and relevant to the purposes of this Sources Sought, provided it does not exceed the 3 page limit.