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

99 -- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION FOR LOBSTER TAGS AND SHIPPERS/DISTRIBUTORS POC -- POC Annette Stevenson, (757) 441-6526 WEB: EASC Homepage, www.easc.noaa.gov. E-MAIL: Contract Specialist, Annette.S.Stevenson@noaa.gov. The purpose of this notice is to 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 approximately 2,700 Federal American lobster permit holders. NOAA will 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 trap tags by Federal American lobster permit holders will be required under proposed regulatory action, which is anticipated to become part of the annual permitting process. Lobster fishing effort may also be regulated by annually limiting the maximum number of traps a permit holder may fish. Maximum trap limits will vary depending on which of up to seven fishing areas the permit holder elects atthe beginning of each fishing year. Trap tags containing the permit holder's permit number and the fishing area or areas (up to a maximum of seven) the vessel elects to lobster in, will be attached to each lobster trap. Preliminary estimates for 1999 indicate that each of approximately 2,500 permit holders may order up to 1,100 tags for nearshore areas and approximately 200 permit holders may each order up to 2,200 tags for offshore areas. Permit holders may order less than the maximum number of tags allowed. Trap allocations may be reduced in future years, depending on the status of the American lobster resource. Therefore, the number of tags may vary from year to year. The program will operate by requiring permit holders to send NOAA a check made out to the authorized tag manufacturer to pay for tag allotments. NOAA will verify the information and forward payment along with information indicating mailing addresses to the tag manufacturer. The tag manufacturer will then ship the tags directly to the permit holder. Occasional shipments of orders for additional tags, up to the specified limit, depending on fishing area, may occur throughout the year. Occasional shipments of orders for replacement tags, up to 10 percent of the maximum specified limit may occur throughout the year. Responses to this notice shall include, at a minimum, unique qualifications, experience with similar programs, and the estimated cost per tag to the permit holder. Minimum Shipping Specifications: (1) Tags must be sent directly to approximately 2,700 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 received within 10 business days of receipt of authorization. (2) A preliminary list of users and addresses may be provided for purposes of this request. Initial shipping of tags shall take place between March, 1999 and May, 1999. 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 repeated lobster trap haulbacks, embossed "NMFS/EEZ-99", numbered with a six digit numeric code representing each unique vessel permit number, numbered with a one to three digit alphanumeric code for each of a maximum of seven lobster fishing areas an individual vessel may elect to lobster in. 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. Written responses are due no later than March 10, 1999 and should be sent to Department of Commerce, NOAA/EASC, Attn: Annette Stevenson, 200 World Trade Center, Room 209, Norfolk, Virginia, 23510. Questions can be directed to Robert Ross (978) 281-9234. The Government reserves the right, without further consideration, to render a determination of small business set-aside based solely 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. Posted 02/22/99 (W-SN300834). (0053)

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