United States - Northwest Fisheries Science Center Fish Ecology Division Support Services

Description

Added: May 22, 2019 9:59 am

Disclaimer: This is not a solicitation. This is not a request for quote (RFQ), invitation for bid (IFB), request for proposal (RFP), request for application (RFA) or an announcement of a solicitation, and does not assume the Government will award a contract or proceed with any of the above solicitation efforts in the near future. This request is for information purposes only and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued or awarded. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect cost or charges by the Government will arise as a result of the submission of information. All information considered proprietary shall be marked accordingly. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for improperly identified proprietary information. Properly identified proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with federal regulations. The purpose of this announcement is solely to gather information from the marketplace, and any responses received will neither be considered an offer by the responding party nor returned to the responding party. No telephone inquiries will be accepted, and requests for solicitation packages will not honored since no solicitation has been prepared.

Synopsis: Sources Sought
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is conducting market research for the purposes of identifying small businesses that have demonstrated capabilities to perform scientific support services which include environmental and biological data collection; physical, biological, or biochemical analysis; fabrication, installation, operation, maintenance and repair of research equipment, and/or other peripheral support services. No solicitation of offers is made by this synopsis.
Background:
A major component of the scientific program of the Fish Ecology (FE) Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) is research directed at improving survival of Pacific salmon as they migrate to and from the ocean. The development of the Federal Columbia River Hydropower System and the construction of numerous dams in the Columbia River Basin, along with major agricultural changes in water and land management in the region, have become major obstacles to both juvenile and adult salmon migrations. This has significantly impacted natural fish production and has threatened the existence of many populations. Multiple stocks of Snake and Columbia River salmon and steelhead are currently listed as threatened or endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act.
FE Division conducts research at dams, on boats in the Columbia River or Puget Sound estuaries, and in remote stream locations. Some work is also conducted in offices or in workshops where staff work on vessels or operate fabrication machinery. The field work phases of the research projects mainly occur during the spring and summer periods when juvenile and adult salmonids migrate. Some of these studies require large numbers of temporary and intermittent staff, including Fishery Biologists, Technicians, and Vessel and Equipment Operators to carry out their complex design.
Specific research projects are directed at:

1) Assessing the effects of transportation on juvenile salmonids.
2) Determining the migration timing and relative survival of salmon through rivers, reservoirs and different dam passage routes.
3) Determining fish guidance and orifice passage efficiencies at selected Columbia and Snake River dams.
4) Developing and evaluating alternative fish collection and/or bypass strategies.
5) Conducting juvenile and adult radio telemetry, acoustic, and PIT tag studies;
6) Conducting estuary and river plume studies to determine life-cycle strategies, etc.
7) Conducting oceanographic, benthic and plankton sampling studies.
Requirements:
The Contractor shall provide overall administrative and contractual support including insurance and liability coverage, and employ the mobile workforce of contractor Fishery Biologists,
Technicians, Boat Operators, Laborers, and other contractor personnel who will collect data and assist in setup/maintenance/cleanup activities required at each study site. The contractor shall be responsible for adherence to all federal, state, local, and site specific safety regulations. Contractor personnel may be required to operate Government vehicles and boats at all worksites, provided the proper Government training and certifications (if applicable) have been met.
Sampling and data collection will be determined by NMFS and performed on a flexible work schedule depending on fish movement, river flow, study requirements, and site coordination.
Consequently, precise work hours or work dates cannot be determined in advance. Work schedules may involve shift or weekend periods.
Sampling will be conducted under a variety of weather and working conditions at a variety of sites dependent upon the type of study.
Work sites include but are not limited to:
1) Hydropower dam intake decks, fish bypass channels and galleries, fish handling/marking facilities, adult traps in fish ladders
2) Purse seine/trawl vessels during fishing operations
3) Small boats during limnologic, estuarine, PIT tag, or juvenile/adult salmonid telemetry studies
4) Shallow water areas during beach seining
5) Laboratories
6) Fish rearing facilities
7) Offices
Information Requested:
Interested companies should describe their capabilities as they relate to the following:
• Adaptability - ability to respond to emerging and expanding needs of their sponsors and anticipate future critical issues; and
• Objectivity - ability to produce thorough, independent analyses to address complex technical and analytical problems.
In addition to addressing technical capabilities, responses must include the following:
• Name and address of firm
• Size of business (i.e., small, small disadvantaged business, woman owned, etc.)
• Ownership
• Number of years in business
• Affiliate information
• Parent company, joint venture partners, potential teaming partners, prime contractor (if potential subcontractor) or subcontractors (if potential prime contractor)
• List of customers covering the past five years (highlighting relevant work performed, contract numbers, contract type, and dollar value of each procurement)
• Point of contact - address and phone number;
Submittal Requirements:
Telephone responses are NOT solicited and will not be accepted. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. This synopsis is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to award a contract, nor will the Government pay for the solicited information.
Please submit your response via email to the attention of the Contact Specialist, Mona Ash at mona.m.ash@noaa.gov no later than June 21, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. Each response shall be no more 10 single-sided, single-spaced pages (excluding the cover page), and each page shall be separately numbered, and shall be in .pdf format.
Primary Point of Contact:
Mona Ash
Contract Specialist
Mona.M.Ash@noaa.gov
Alternative Point of Contact:
Sarah Waugh
Contracting Officer
Sarah.Waugh@noaa.gov

Opportunity closing date

21 June 2019

Value of contract

to be confirmed