Special Notice of Intent to Award a Sole Source

Notice of Intent to Sole Source

THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT AND IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE QUOTES. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Joint Administrative Operations, Acquisition & Property Operations, Legacy Region 3, FWS Office of the Regional Director Services and Materials located at Barkley Lock and Dam near Grand Rivers, Kentucky. USFWS intends to award a firm fixed price sole source contract under the authority of FAR 6.302-1 only one responsible source to:

HTI-VEMCO USA, INC.
711 NE Northlake Way
Seattle, WA 98105

Period of performance is 1/1/2022 through 12/31/2022

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 334220 Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing; the business size standard is 1,250.
The object of this sole source award will provide equipment and service support required to support an ongoing research project at Barkley Lock and Dam investigating the effectiveness of a Bioacoustic Fish Fence (BAFF) for Asian carp deterrence. This will support an existing telemetry array at the BAFF study site for the duration of the project. HTI-Vemco/Innovasea manufactures state-of-the-art acoustic tag tracking systems for fisheries research. HTI's Model 290-series Acoustic Tag Tracking Systems is currently installed on site and offer the means to track fish tagged with HTI Model 795 Acoustic Tags in fine scale. Only HTI Model 290-series Acoustic Tag Tracking Systems can track Model 795 Acoustic Tags that are currently in use due to the unique signal encoding utilized in the tags.
Unique, key advantages of the HTI Acoustic Tag Tracking Systems and Acoustic Tags include:
¿Model 290/291 Acoustic Tag Systems are capable of tracking tagged fish in three-dimensions up to 25 times per second, with sub-meter position resolution, as do the Model 395-series data loggers.
¿Over 500 tags in the same hydrophone array can be detected and tracked simultaneously by HTI Model 290Acoustic Tag Systems and Model 291 Portable Acoustic Tag Systems. Tag "collisions" common with radio tags and other manufacturers' acoustic tags do not exist with the Model 290/291 Systems.
¿Model 291 Acoustic Tags can be rapidly activated and programmed by the user in the field for pulse width (0.05 -10.0 msec), signal encoding, pulse repetition rate (25 pings/sec to 1 ping every 16 sec), and individual tag identification. With the Model 490 Acoustic Tag Programmer and the Model 491 Acoustic Tag Programmer, HTIModel 795 Acoustic Tags can be fully activated and programmed after being implanted in the fish.
¿HTI Model 795 Acoustic Tags have a proprietary code-phase modulation signal available which increases signal strength by up to 11 dB over a conventional CW pulse, increasing detection ranges. This proprietary code-phase modulation signal is not offered by or readable by any other known manufacturer.
¿With Model 290/291 Acoustic Tag Receivers and Model 395 Acoustic Tag Data Loggers, detection ranges for Model 795 Acoustic Tags are typically 500 m to 1 km in freshwater. (Radio tags are typically limited to ranges of 10 m in water).
¿Over 50,000 user-specified individual tag ID codes are available with Model 795 Acoustic Tags.
Additionally, with the existing telemetry arrays in place by Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, the request for Vemco V16-4X Transmitters to supplement the number of Vemco tags this partnering agency will be using to tag fish at the study site to identify potential effects of the BAFF on native fish passage. These tags are also proprietary to HTI/Vemco/Innovasea and supplement existing equipment already deployed at Barkley Lock and Dam.
The above telemetry system is currently in use on this project, including multiple receivers in place, ~27 hydrophones deployed, and all of the associated above and underwater cabling and mounting hardware.

This synopsis does not constitute a solicitation; however, if any interested party believes they can meet the above requirement within the needed period of performance, it may submit a statement of capabilities. The statement of capabilities must be submitted in writing and must contain clear and convincing evidence that competition of this requirement would be advantageous to the Government. 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.

Capability statements shall be submitted by e-mail ONLY as a Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF attachment to the following address: Lorenzo_aragon@fws.gov.
NO TELEPHONE REQUESTS/OFFERS WILL BE HONORED