SOURCES SOUGHT
V -- Lonline Charter for Pacific Cod
- Notice Date
- 8/10/2009
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 532411
— Commercial Air, Rail, and Water Transportation Equipment Rental and Leasing
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Western Region Acquisition Division, 7600 Sand Point Way, Northeast, Seattle, Washington, 98115-6349
- ZIP Code
- 98115-6349
- Solicitation Number
- AB133F-10-RP-0003
- Point of Contact
- Mona M. Ash, Phone: 206-526-6384
- E-Mail Address
-
mona.m.ash@noaa.gov
(mona.m.ash@noaa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- NOTICE: THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. The information provided in response to this notice will assist the Government in determining the extent of the small business and socio-economic market for the type of work described herein. The intent of the announcement is to identify sources that are qualified small business concerns capable of furnishing two research cruises for Pacific cod using a single chartered fishing vessel in 2009 and 2010 to tag and release cod and to collect catch data and biological data on cod and incidental species in the eastern Bering Sea. In lieu of compensation, the Pacific cod catch shall be retained by the charter vessel. The research longline cruise in 2009 will consist of 30 sampling days in the eastern Bering Sea. The cruise will begin as soon as possible after the finish of the 2009 B-Season for Pacific cod longline fishing in the eastern Bering Sea (on or about 1 November 2009) and end 35 to 40 days later, depending on mobilization and demobilization time and days lost to weather. The cruise will begin and end in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The research longline cruise in 2010 will consist of 30 sampling days in the eastern Bering Sea. The cruise will begin as soon as possible after the finish of the 2010 A-Season for Pacific cod longline fishing in the eastern Bering Sea (on or about 4 January 2010) and end 35 to 40 days later, depending on mobilization and demobilization time and days lost to weather. The cruise will begin and end in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. VESSEL REQUIREMENTS for longline operations: 1. Minimum registered length 41.1 m (135 ft), although the preferred vessel registered length is 45.7 m (150 ft) or greater. 2. Minimum main engine continuous horsepower sufficient to permit a cruising speed of 18.5 km/hr (10 kts) in a moderate sea state. 3. Able to accommodate a field party of 8, including 4 contract scientists provided by the vessel. 4. The vessel must have an endurance capability for operating and fishing for a minimum of 40 consecutive days, including running to and from stations. 5. Completely rigged and ready to fish longline gear. The gear shall be provided by the vessel and include, but not limited to, the tackle and machinery necessary for setting and retrieving, flag-and-buoy arrays, buoy line, anchors, running line, and ground line with baited hooks. An auto-baiting system is preferred. The baiting system must consistently bait 95% or more of the hooks. If the baiting rate falls below 95% then fishing operations shall cease until the baiting system has been brought to the required efficiency by the vessel's engineering department. The contractor shall determine Hook size, hook spacing, and all other attributes of the tackle. Each unit of gear (e.g. magazine, rack, skate, etc) shall have the same ground line material and length, the same tackle fixing hooks to ground line, the same hook size, the same hook spacing, and the same number of hooks. Units of gear that vary by more than two percent (2%) from the number of hooks specified by the contractor shall not be deployed. 6. The Contractor shall furnish bait for each cruise. Each hook shall be baited with chopped squid in an amount per hook that is appropriate to the auto-baiting machinery. The bait shall be East Coast or North Atlantic squid (Illex illecebrosus), 2-3 count per lb or larger; Loligo or market squid is not acceptable. The general commercial designation is brown color, fit for human consumption (used as an index of freshness), and 100-200 grams per squid. The head and legs will not be used for bait, only the mantle and viscera. The mantle length should be 15-23 cm (6-9 in) long. The baiting system must consistently bait 95% or more of the hooks. If the baiting rate falls below 95% then fishing operations shall cease until the baiting system has been brought to the required efficiency by the vessel's engineering department. At the beginning of each cruise, the vessel shall be supplied with a single lot of bait sufficient to last the duration of that cruise. Changes in bait characteristics during the course of the cruise will render catch rates incomparable from station to station. Calculation of the required amount of bait depends on the baiting characteristics of the vessel's fishing gear and the expected amount of fishing in a research cruise (see note below on the expected amount of fishing). 7. The vessel shall provide freezer storage, exclusive of that for ship stores, sufficient to store at least 272 mt (600,000 lb) of dressed and frozen fish. If more cod are caught than can be carried in the vessel's freezer storage then a mid-cruise off-load can be negotiated between the Government and the contractor. 8. Contract Scientific Personnel a. The Contractor shall provide at least four (4) trained biologists to conduct standard survey data collection operations that shall perform 1) catch tallying of individual hooks; 2) length and sex sampling of catch; 3) recording and editing data in appropriate forms and computer files. b. Personnel must receive training in the above operations by Government survey scientists prior to participation in the survey. c. Personnel shall be employed by a qualified scientific firm or institute engaged in marine fisheries research, or in providing scientific personnel. 9. The vessel and officer licensing requirements shall be sufficient to permit the chartered vessel to carry eight (8) personnel in the field party (both male and female). EXPECTED AMOUNT OF FISHING The research fishing to be conducted on these cruises has not been done in previous years so there is no historical basis for an expected catch of Pacific cod and incidental species under these fishing protocols. The object of these charters is to maintain high data accuracy and consistency. In each cruise, there shall be one day of fishing at each of thirty stations. If foul weather prevents fishing at a particular station then fishing operations shall cease until conditions permit their resumption and that station can be sampled. Each station shall be fished on a 24-hour cycle, including running time from the previous station, which may be as much as 10 hours for the 10 stations in the strata with lower sampling density. Based on the constraints the offeror can expect the chartered vessel to be able to run about half the gear that would be deployed during open access fishing. If a vessel normally fishes 40,000 hooks per day then it will likely average 20,000 hooks per day during the research fishing. If a vessel normally fishes 70,000 hooks per day then it will likely average 35,000 hooks per day during the research fishing. These are conservative estimates and a larger number of hooks may be fished per day in strata with higher station density, though this is not certain. The number of cod removed from the research catch for scientific purposes is expected to be about 300 per day. The remainder of the catch shall be turned over to the vessel. Period of performance shall begin on or about 1 November 2009 for the first cruise. The second cruise shall begin on or about 4 January 2010. The North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) is 532411 with a size standard of $7M. All contractors doing business with the Government are now required to be registered with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) at http://www.ccr.gov. In addition, completion of the online representation and certifications application (ORCA at http://orca.bpn.gov) is required. NOTE: THIS SYNOPSIS IS NOT CONSIDERED A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL BUT A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. No solicitation document is available. No contract will be awarded on the basis of responses received to this notice. All interested parties must respond to this announcement by August 24, 2009. Documentation to support the contractor's capability and experience must be in writing and include the contractor's name, address, point of contact, telephone number, DUNS Number, CCR Cage Number, business type and size, i.e., small, large, non-profit, educational, etc.; and a brief narrative regarding its capability to provide the services as described above. Any response that does not include this information will not be considered. The Government will review each response to determine if the contractor has the experience, knowledge, and capability to perform the services as specified above. Detailed information must be submitted by email to the address noted below by 2:00 PM local Seattle time (PDT), August 24, 2009. Email Address: Mona.M.Ash@noaa.gov. Questions of any nature must be addressed in writing as NO TELEPHONE INQUIRIES WILL BE HONORED.
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