Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF JULY 29, 2006 FBO #1706
SOLICITATION NOTICE

B -- NOTICE OF INTENT TO NEGOTIATE A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT FOR THE NECESSARY SERVICES TO MONITOR THE EFFICACY OF ARTIFICIAL REEFS AS A FISH HABITAT ENHANCEMENT TOOL IN NEARSHORE ALASKAN WATERS

Notice Date

7/27/2006
 

Notice Type

Solicitation Notice
 

NAICS

541690 — Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Western Administrative Support Center, 7600 Sand Point Way, Northeast, Seattle, WA, 98115-6349
 

ZIP Code

98115-6349
 

Solicitation Number

NFFS5000-6-P0068
 

Response Due

8/11/2006
 

Archive Date

8/26/2006
 

Description

NOTICE OF INTENT TO NEGOTIATE A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT WITH THE PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND SCIENCE CENTER FOR NOAA FISHERIES, ALASKA REGION. PURPOSE OF PROPOSED CONTRACT IS TO PROVIDE THE NECESSARY SERVICES TO MONITOR THE EFFICACY OF ARTIFICIAL REEFS AS A FISH HABITAT ENHANCEMENT TOOL IN NEARSHORE ALASKAN WATERS. THE CONTRACTOR?S SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ARE TO: THE OBJECTIVES AND HYPOTHESES OF THE MONITORING STUDY ARE: 1.) DOCUMENT THE MARINE COMMUNITY AT THE ARTIFICIAL REEF AND A.) DESCRIBE SPATIALLY AND TEMPORALLY THE PLANT AND INVERTEBRATE ASSEMBLAGES COLONIZING THE REEF; B) DOCUMENT FISH SPECIES DIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE; C) DETERMINE IF MARINE COMMUNITIES VARY BY REEF STRUCTURE (BALL VS. PYRAMID); C1) DETERMINE IF ARTIFICIAL REEF COMMUNITIES ENHANCE THE IMMEDIATE MARINE ENVIRONMENT AND; C2) ASSESS ARTIFICIAL REEFS AS A FISH HABITAT ENHANCEMENT AND RESTORATION TOOL. IN ADDRESSING THESE OBJECTIVES, TWO HYPOTHESES ARE TO BE TESTED BY THE CONTRACTOR: H1. FISH HABITAT IS ENHANCED AFTER DEPLOYMENT OF ARTIFICIAL REEFS; FISH DIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE AT ARTIFICIAL REEF SITES IS INCREASED IN COMPARISON TO NATURAL HARD BOTTOM HABITAT. H2. ARTIFICIAL REEFS MIMIC THE ECOLOGICAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF NATURAL REEFS SUCH AS ROCK OUTCROPPINGS. METHODS/SAMPLING DESIGN: SAMPLING METHODOLOGIES STEM FROM PREVIOUS WORK ON ARTIFICIAL REEFS IN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES (CONLEY ET. AL. 2000, SEAMAN 2000). CONTRACTOR WILL CONDUCT INTENSIVE MONITORING, AT A MINIMUM OF 5 DAYS/MONTH, FROM MAY 2007 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2007 TO EFFECTIVELY DESCRIBE COLONIZATION RATES OF SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEGETATION, SESSILE AND MOTILE INVERTEBRATES, AND FISH. MONTHLY SURVEYS WILL BE CONDUCTED BY THE CONTRACTOR USING A COMBINATION OF SURVEY METHODS. MONTHLY SCUBA AND STATIONARY UNDERWATER CAMERA SURVEYS WILL DESCRIBE PLANT AND INVERTEBRATE ASSEMBLAGES AND WILL DOCUMENT FISH SPECIES. FOR EACH SITE, CONTRACTOR TO PERFORM MONTHLY SCUBA SURVEYS, INCLUDING A MINIMUM OF 16 SLATE OBSERVATION AND VIDEO TRANSECTS. PHOTOGRAPHIC QUADRANTS WILL BE TAKEN AT A MINIMUM OF 16 SITES (3 PHOTOS PER SITE). HOOK AND LINE SURVEYS, TO ASSESS PREDATOR ASSEMBLAGES, WILL BE CONDUCTED AT A MINIMUM OF 19 SITES (6 ARTIFICIAL REEF, 9 NATURAL HARD BOTTOM, 4 NATURAL REEF) AND EACH SURVEY IS FOR TWO ANGLERS FISHING A 20 MINUTE PERIOD. FISH TRAPS WILL BE DEPLOYED MONTHLY TO COLLECT DEMERSAL FISH, AND GUT CONTENTS WILL BE COLLECTED TO DETERMINE FORAGE BASE, AT THE SAME 19 SITES AS THE HOOK & LINE SURVEYS WITH 3 TRAPS DEPLOYED PER SITE FOR A SIX HOUR SOAK. DROP CAMERA SURVEYS AT SAME 19 SITES AS ABOVE (HOOK & LINE, AND FISH TRAP SAMPLING SITES) WILL BE COMPLETED, WITH A 5 MINUTE SURVEY AT SITE BASE AND 5 MINUTES ABOVE SITE (10 MINUTES TOTAL PER SITE). IN ADDITION, THREE NATURAL ROCKY REEFS AND THREE NATURAL HARD BOTTOM HABITATS NEAR WHITTIER WILL BE MONITORED AS CONTROL SITES. SAMPLING FREQUENCIES LISTED ABOVE ARE A MINIMUM MORE SAMPLES MAY BE NEEDED TO ENSURE THE STUDY OBJECTIVES ARE MET. SAMPLING EFFORT SHOULD MEET THE PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND HYPOTHESES. SAMPLING PROTOCOLS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: DIVE SURVEYS: SLATE OBSERVATIONS: FISH AND INVERTEBRATE SPECIES ARE RECORDED ON HAND HELD SLATES BY THE DIVERS AT THE TIME OF OBSERVATION. UNDERWATER VIDEO TRANSECTS: AT EACH REEF PLOT WITHIN BOTH REEF PATCHES, DIVERS WILL SWIM ONE 30M VIDEO TRANSECT AROUND CIRCUMFERENCE OF PLOT, AND ONE 10M TRANSECT OVER THE REEF PLOT. VIDEO TRANSECTS WILL BE SIMILARLY CONDUCTED AT ROCKY REEF SITES AND AT NATURAL HARD BOTTOM CONTROL SITES. VIDEO WILL INCORPORATE 1M ON EITHER SIDE OF THE TRANSECT LINE. OBJECTS SEEN OUTSIDE OF THE 1M LIMIT WILL NOT BE RECORDED. PHOTOGRAPHIC QUADRATS: AT EACH REEF PATCH (REEF BALL AND FISH HAVENS) DIGITAL STILL PHOTOS WILL BE TAKEN OF PLANT AND INVERTEBRATE ASSEMBLAGES AT THREE RANDOMLY CHOSEN REEF STRUCTURES IN EACH PLOT (LOW, MID, AND HIGH DEPTH PLOTS). AT EACH STRUCTURE, TWO 0.1M2 QUADRAT PHOTOS WILL BE TAKEN AT BOTH THE BASE AND THE CREST. QUADRAT PHOTOS WILL BE OVERLAID WITH A GRID TO DETERMINE PERCENT COVERAGE OF COLONIZING ORGANISMS. IF PHOTOGRAPH RESOLUTION IS INSUFFICIENT FOR POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION, SCRAPINGS OF COLONIZING PLANTS AND INVERTEBRATES MAY ALSO BE COLLECTED WITHIN 0.0625M2 QUADRATS. PHOTOGRAPHIC QUADRATS WILL BE SIMILARLY CONDUCTED AT ROCKY REEF SITES AND AT THREE NATURAL HARD BOTTOM CONTROL SITES. PHYSICAL MONITORING: FOR EACH SURVEY METHOD, SALINITY, TIDAL STAGE, VISIBILITY, WATER AND AIR TEMPERATURE, AND CURRENT WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL BE RECORDED. NON-DIVE SURVEYS: HOOK AND LINE SURVEYS: ALL FISH TRAP SITES WILL BE FISHED FOR 20 MINUTES BY TWO ANGLERS USING BOTTOM FISHING TACKLE TO ASSESS PREDATOR ASSEMBLAGES AT REEF SITES. ALL FISH CAUGHT WILL BE MEASURED AND A SUB SAMPLE COLLECTED FOR GUT CONTENT ANALYSIS. FISH TRAP DEPLOYMENT: AT EACH REEF PATCH (REEF BALLS AND FISH HAVENS) 3 FISH TRAPS WILL BE DEPLOYED FOR 6 HOURS AT EACH PLOT (LOW, MID, AND HIGH DEPTH PLOTS). FISH CAUGHT AT EACH TRAP WILL BE IDENTIFIED AND MEASURED, AND A SUB SAMPLE COLLECTED FOR GUT CONTENT ANALYSIS. FISH TRAPS WILL BE SIMILARLY DEPLOYED AT THREE NATURAL HARD BOTTOM CONTROL SITES AND AT LEAST ONE NATURAL ROCKY REEF SITE. DROP CAMERA SURVEYS/STATIONARY VIDEO CAMERA: PRIOR TO FISH TRAP DEPLOYMENT, ALL FISH TRAP SITES WILL BE MONITORED BY TETHERED VIDEO CAMERA (NON-DIVE VIDEO). THE CAMERA WILL RECORD VIDEO FOR FIVE MINUTES AT BOTH THE BASE OF EACH PLOT AND AT A HEIGHT OF 2M ABOVE EACH PLOT. SPECIES WILL BE IDENTIFIED AND MEASUREMENT APPROXIMATED BY LASER REFERENCE MOUNTED TO CAMERA. PHYSICAL MONITORING: FOR EACH SURVEY METHOD, SALINITY, TIDAL STAGE, WATER AND AIR TEMPERATURE, AND CURRENT WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL BE RECORDED. ADDITIONALLY, A SEA-BIRD ELECTRONICS CTD (CONDUCTIVITY, TEMPERATURE, AND DEPTH) PROFILER MUST BE DEPLOYED TO ANALYZE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE WATER COLUMN. THE CONTRACTOR FOR THIS PROJECT MUST HAVE PRIOR EXPERIENCE WORKING AND MONITORING ARTIFICIAL REEFS (AR), EXPERTISE IN SCIENTIFIC DIVING, DATA COLLECTION UNDERWATER IN COLD ENVIRONMENTS, PROVEN EXPERIENCE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO MAINTAIN A TWO YEAR STUDY AND TO ANALYZE RESULTS YIELDING PRODUCTS SUCH AS SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS. THE CONTRACTOR MUST ACHIEVE ALL OF THE ABOVE IN A REMOTE AREA OF ALASKA AND BE PROFICIENT AT THE LOGISTICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES PRESENTED BY WORKING IN THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT IN WHITTIER, ALASKA. PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND SCIENCE CENTER (PWSSC).IS UNIQUELY QUALIFIED AS MR. BRAD REYNOLDS AND DR. MARY ANNE BISHOP, OF PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND SCIENCE CENTER (PWSSC) MEET THE STANDARDS LISTED ABOVE. MR. BRAD REYNOLDS IS THE ONLY KNOWN PERSON TO HAVE CONDUCTED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH DIVES ON THE ARTIFICIAL REEFS (AR) IN PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND (PWS). DR. BISHOP PROVIDED SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE. PWSSC PROVIDED TECHNICAL AND LOGISTICAL SUPPORT. BOTH THESE RESEARCHERS, WORKING THROUGH THE PWSSC, COLLECTED AND ANALYZED DATA ON THE NMFS DEPLOYED AR IN SMITTY?S COVE, PASSAGE CANAL, IN PWS IN 2006, AS PART OF MR. REYNOLDS MASTER?S THESIS. MR. REYNOLDS HAS OVER 40 DIVES COLLECTING SCIENTIFIC DATA ON ARS IN THE GULF OF MEXICO, AND TWO YEARS EXPERIENCE WORKING ON JUVENILE FISH HABITAT SURVEYS IN PWS. DR. BISHOP HAS PUBLISHED OVER 25 ARTICLES IN SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS. THE WORK AND DATA PRODUCED BY PWSSC IS OF HIGH QUALITY AND IS COMPATIBLE WITH PROJECT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. FURTHER, MR. REYNOLDS AND DR. BISHOP ARE PROFESSIONALS, REQUIRING LITTLE SUPERVISION, AND HAVE ESTABLISHED A GOOD, PRODUCTIVE WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH NOAA FISHERIES, ALASKA REGION/ANCHORAGE FIELD OFFICE. THEIR EXPERIENCE MEETS THE NEEDS OF NOAA FISHERIES HABITAT CONSERVATION DIVISION. IT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF NOAA FISHERIES TO STAY WITH PWSSC DURING THE TRANSITION FROM YEAR 1 TO YEAR 2 OF THE STUDY. STAYING WITH PWSSC FACILITATES OUR NEED TO MAINTAIN HIGH DATA QUALITY AND CONSISTENCY IN STUDY DESIGN. CHANGING CONTRACTORS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PROJECT WOULD BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT AND RESULT IN A LOWER QUALITY PRODUCT FOR NOAA FISHERIES. DATA QUALITY WOULD BE COMPROMISED TO THE POINT OF MAKING PROJECT RESULTS NOT WORTHY OF PUBLICATION. COST EFFICIENCY WOULD ALSO BE INCREASED AS HIRING NEW CONTRACTORS WOULD NECESSITATE CHANGES IN DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT ALREADY IN POSSESSION OF PWSSC. THE PWSSC HAS ACCESS TO DIVERS WHO ARE AAUS CERTIFIED. CURRENTLY AAUS HAS A RECIPROCITY AGREEMENT WITH NOAA. DUE TO THIS RECIPROCITY NOAA DIVERS ARE ALLOWED TO PERFORM WORKING DIVES WITH THESE INDIVIDUALS. THE TRAINING FOR THIS LEVEL OF DIVE PROFICIENCY IS RIGOROUS AND IT IS DIFFICULT TO FIND DIVERS THAT HAVE THIS LEVEL OF CERTIFICATION. WITHOUT RECIPROCITY NOAA DIVERS WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO WORK WITH THE FELLOW RESEARCHER MAKING DATA COLLECTION IMPOSSIBLE. BASED ON THE ABOVE, NOAA BELIEVES PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND SCIENCE CENTER. IS THE ONLY VENDOR AVAILABLE THAT CAN MEET THE ABOVE REQUIREMENTS AND IS UNIQUELY QUALIFIED TO WORK ON THIS CRITICAL PROJECT. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE IS FROM JANUARY 1, 2007 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2008. THIS IS A TWO YEAR PROJECT. PRINCIPAL PLACE OF PERFORMANCE IS SMITTY?S COVE NEAR WHITTIER, ALASKA. NOTWITHSTANDING THE GOVERNMENTS INTENT TO NEGOTIATE THIS REQUIREMENT WITH PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND SCIENCE CENTER., UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF 41 USC253(C)(1), ANY OTHER RESPONSIBLE SOURCES MAY SUBMIT A STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE WHICH, IF TIMELY RECEIVED, WILL BE EVALUATED BY NOAA TO DETERMINE IF A COMPETITIVE SOLICITATION SHOULD BE ISSUED. RESPONSES MUST BE RECEIVED BY AUGUST 11, 2006. RESPONSES MAY BE FAXED TO (907) 586-8726 OR E-MAILED TO SUZANNE.JOHNSTON@NOAA.GOV. QUESTIONS CONCERNING THIS PROPOSED ACQUISITION MAY BE DIRECTED TO SUZANNE JOHNSTON. THIS IS A SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION WITH AN ESTIMATED TOTAL AWARD VALUE OF LESS THAN $100,000.
 

Place of Performance

Address: SMITTY'S COVE, WHITTIER, ALASKA (REMOTE)

Zip Code: 99693

Country: UNITED STATES
 

Record

SN01099253-W 20060729/060727220427 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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