Department of Commerce, NOAA, 200 World Trade Center, Room 209, Norfolk, VA 23510-1624

66 -- SOURCES SOUGHT FOR SURF CLAM AND OCEAN QUAHOG TAGS AND SHIPPERS/DISTRIBUTORS POC Michele McCoy, (757) 441-6879 WEB: EASC Homepage, http://www.easc.noaa.gov. E-MAIL: Contract Specialist, Michele.A.McCoy@noaa.gov. The purpose of this notice is solicit information as to the availability of potential sources that can provide the requirement identified hereafter. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is seeking information on the availability of tag or seal manufacturers capable of manufacturing and distributing packages of tags to surf clam and ocean quahog quota holders. NOAA would also consider proposals from organizations capable of acting as shipping agents to purchase tags from manufacturers, receive payment for the tags, and ship the tags to authorized recipients. The use of these tags by surf clam and ocean quahog quota holders is required under the current fishery management plan, and is part of the annual permitting process. An annual quota is specified and then divided among quota holders. The fishery is monitored by affixing numbered tags to the cages in which the product is landed to ensure that the shellfish have been landed legally and within the annual quota. Therefore, the number of tags will vary from year to year. The 1996 shipment was 95,000 surf clam tags and 150,000 ocean quahog tags. NOAA would like to obtain information from companies interested in manufacturing tags and then shipping the tags directly to approximately 130 quota holders. The program would operate by requiring quota-holders to send NOAA a check made out to the authorized tag manufacturer to pay for their allotment tags. NOAA would verify the information and forward the payment along with information indicating mailing addresses and corresponding tag numbers to the tag manufacturer. The tag manufacturer would then ship the tags directly to the quota-holder. Occasional shipments of replacement tags may occur throughout the year. As stated above, organizations capable of receiving orders for the tags and then shipping them to individual quota-holders are also encouraged to submit information. Minimum Shipping Specifications: (1) Tags shall be sent directly to approximatley 130 businesses via certified mail, UPS or other comparable service. NOAA will authorize shipments prior to distribution by sending payment to the manufacturer or shipper. For each business, tags must be shipped within 10 business days of receipt of authorizations. (2) A preliminary list of users, addresses and quantities per address may be provided for purposes of this request. Shipping shall take place between September and December. (3) Occasional shipment of replacement tags may occur throughout the year. Minimum Technical Specifications: (1) Colored (color varies annually); self-locking tags or seals; made of a material that can withstand cold temperatures and will remain attached during off loading from vessel to dock, embossed "NMFS Surfclam Tag 97"; sequentially numbered 000001-95,001. (2) Colored (color varies annually), self-locking tags or seals, made of a material that can withstand cold temperatures and will remain attached during off loading from vessel to dock, embossed "NMFS Quahog Tag 97", numbered 200001-350001. All interested parties responding to this synopsis must indicate their size status. The SIC code for this action is 3499. Small business size standard is 500 employees. All respondents must prepare a qualifications/capabilities information paper specific to this requirement. Submission of company brochures will not be considered as meeting the information paper requirements. Interested parties are required to respond, within thirty (30) days of this announcement (4/18/97). The Government reserves the right, without further consideration, to render a determination of small business set-aside based soley on the information received. The Government will NOT pay for information received in response to this announcement nor will the Government compensate any respondent for any costs incurred in the development of information provided to the Government. All responses to this inquiry shall be retained on a source list for any possible solicitation to be issued under separate synopsis. Any information received as a result of this notice will NOT be provided to other contractors. NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENT CURRENTLY EXISTS. (0086)

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