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

A -- MARINE MAMMAL DISENTANGLEMENT PROGRAM SOL SOL 52EANF-9-00039 POC Edith W. McIntyre, Contract Specialist, (757) 441-6648 WEB: Click here to access our home page., http://www.easc.noaa.gov. E-MAIL: Click here to contact Contract Specialist via e-mail., Edith.W.McIntyre@noaa.gov. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) intends to award a contract to establish, maintain, and operate a program for disentangling whales and disseminating knowledge gained from the disentanglement efforts. The contractor must have knowledge of whale behavior and experience handling small boats near whales. The primary function of the contract will be to maintain an emergency response team and the equipment and other personnel needed to support the team. Other important aspects of the contract include: (1) maintaining and improving the current network of individuals who locate and assist in responding to reports of entangled whales, (2) providing public relations during entanglement events, (3) developing and maintaining a database of entanglements and providing access to the data to qualified users, (4) briefing NMFS and other organizations about entanglements on an as needed basis, and (5) establishing a second disentanglement team in the Mid-Atlantic region. The contractor must be prepared to respond to entanglements from Florida through Maine and should also establish a cooperative relationship with the Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The period of performance will be from October 1, 1999 through September 30, 2000; there will be two Option Years with an ending date of September 30, 2002. Any party interested in receiving a copy of the solicitation must provide written notice to the Contracting Office. The solicitation document will be issued on or about August 16, 1999. Fax requests to (757) 441-3786. Telephone requests will not be accepted. Posted 07/28/99 (W-SN360105). (0209)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0007 19990730\A-0007.SOL)