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

F -- NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE STUDY SOL EASC 00-338 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 solicit and negotiate on a sole source basis with the New England Aquarium (NEA), Boston, Massachusetts to perform a study of rates and types of entanglements among western North Atlantic right whales, as determined by photographs of various parts of the body. The NEA will collect and analyze photographs of right whales in order to monitor the frequency of entanglement, and thus potentially to assess the effectiveness of measures adopted by the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP). The NEA is uniquely qualified to perform this requirement; having curated the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalogue (NARWC), which contains detailed sighted images of all known individually identified right whales from this ocean dating back to 1935. These histories include information which is essential to the study. The period of performance will be from July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2001 with two option year periods ending June 30, 2003. The statutory authority for other than full and open competition is 41 USC 253 (c)(1), Only One Responsible Source. Interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit proposals. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Fax requests to (757) 441-3786. Telephone requests will not be accepted. Posted 06/05/00 (W-SN461625). (0157)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0029 20000607\F-0004.SOL)