The Oceans and Fisheries Partnership

Request for Comments (RFC) 

The United States Agency for International Development's Regional Development Mission for Asia (USAID/RDMA) is in the process of designing a new stand-alone activity to support marine biodiversity conservation and sustainable fisheries for food security in Southeast Asia. USAID/RDMA is posting this Request for Information (RFI), specifically a Request for Comments (RFC) in order to first, provide public information to any parties interested in USAID's support for conservation and sustainable use of marine resources in Southeast Asia and second, to gather comments on the scope and realism of the attached Statement of Objectives (SOO) and supporting documents. The information contained within this RFC may change significantly during the Mission's strategic design processes, consultations and final approval processes. In addition, any information collected through this RFC may or may not be used to help guide thinking about conservation and sustainable marine resource use programming.

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR COMMENTS ONLY. It is not a Request for Proposals, a Request for Quotations, an Invitation for Bids, a Solicitation, or an indication that RDMA will contract for the items contained in this RFC. This RFC is an attempt to reach out in an effort to determine industry capabilities and interest and it will be treated as information only. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFC are will not be considered as offers and therefore cannot be accepted by the U.S. Government to form a binding contract. Responses to this RFC are strictly voluntary and USAID will not pay respondents for information provided in response to this RFC. USAID will not respond individually to any submission of comments. However, USAID will acknowledge receipt of responses received as a result of this RFC. If a Solicitation is issued, it will be announced on the Federal Business Opportunities website http://www.fbo.gov at a later date, and all interested parties must respond to that Solicitation announcement separately from any response to this announcement.

The purpose of Amendment No. 1 is to revise the response due date from May 7, 2014 to May 19, 2014, 9:00 AM, Bangkok time. The attached, revised RFI reflects the extended due date. 

Request for Information (RFI) 

The United States Agency for International Development, Regional Development Mission for Asia (USAID/RDMA) is hereby issuing a Request for Information (RFI) for the anticipated "Catch Certification and Traceability Systems for Sustainable Fisheries in Asia" activity. The RFI offers the opportunity for interested individuals and organizations to provide recommendations on approaches for establishing a regional Catch Certification and Traceability (CCT) system to achieve sustainable fisheries in Asia. The implementation of CCT systems has been identified as a priority by Asian regional fisheries bodies (see Attachment) for combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and promoting the Ecosystems Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM). In responding to this RFI, significant emphasis should be placed on discrete and actionable interventions USAID/RDMA could potentially take to support implementation of regional CCT systems to achieve sustainable fisheries in Southeast Asia through private sector engagement and public private partnerships.