SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- TAGGING AGE 1-3 BLUEFIN TUNA IN THE WESTERN ATLANTIC OCEAN
- Notice Date
- 8/2/2011
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Region Acquisition Division-KC, 601 East 12th Street, Room 1756, Kansas City, Missouri, 64106, United States
- ZIP Code
- 64106
- Solicitation Number
- WC133F-11-RQ-1105
- Archive Date
- 9/7/2011
- Point of Contact
- Sharon Clisso, Phone: 816-426-7471
- E-Mail Address
-
Sharon.Clisso@noaa.gov
(Sharon.Clisso@noaa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared and processed in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This is a solicitation from the U. S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Acquisition Division - Kansas City Office. The requirement is conventional tagging of age 1-3 Bluefin tuna in the western Atlantic Ocean for the NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Operations, Management and Information Service, Miami, FL. This notice constitutes the only Request for Quote (RFQ). Written quotes are being requested. A hardcopy written RFQ will not be issued. This notice is hereby issued as RFQ WC133F-11-RQ-1105. This RFQ and the following incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-53. CLAUSES AND PROVISIONS The FAR and CAR clauses incorporated into this acquisition are: 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items (JUN 2008) [Paragraph (c) is amended from 30 days to 60 days] 52.212-2 Evaluation-Commercial Items (JAN 1999) 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items (JAN 2011) 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions (JUN 2010) 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (JUL 2011), Section (b) (1), (4), (6), (13), (21), (24), (25), (26), (27), (28), (29), (30), (31), (32), (36), (40), (45), (c)(1)[Applicable Wage Determination is accessible at http://www.wdol.gov/wdol], (2), (3) 52.227-17 Rights in Data-Special Works (DEC 2007) 52.232-18 Availability of Funds (APR 1984) 52.245-1 Government Property (AUG 2010) 1352.201-70 Contracting Officer's Authority (APR 2010) 1352.201-72 Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) (APR 2010) (Will be designated at time of award) 1352.209-73 Compliance with the Laws (APR 2010) 1352.209-74 Organizational Conflict of Interest (APR 2010) 1352.233-70 Agency Level Protest (APR 2010) (James E. Price, DOC/NOAA, Eastern Acquisition Division-KC Office, 601 E. 12th St., Room 1756, Kansas City, MO 64106 1352.246-70 Place of Acceptance (APR 2010) (DOC/NOAA/NMFS/Miami, FL) FAR clauses and provisions are available on the internet website: http://www.acquisition.gov/far. CAR clauses and provisions are available on the internet website: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=3fb01eeae7b9c808d918ae0d557a63df&rgn=div5&view=text&node=48:5.0.6.47.44&idno=48 PRICE/QUOTE: This is an order for commercial supplies and services. Offerors shall quote each line item in accordance with the terms and conditions and statement of work specified herein. Prices quoted for the contract line items shall be firm-fixed price inclusive of all costs. CLIN 0001: Conventional tagging of at least 4,000 age 1-3 Bluefin tuna over two years. Firm Fixed Price: $_________ STATEMENT OF WORK Introduction The assessment and management of Atlantic Bluefin tuna under the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) has frequently been called into question over assumptions relating to stock structure, migration patterns, natural mortality, and the interpretation of fishery catch per unit effort data as indicators of abundance. One of the major research priorities identified under the ICCAT Bluefin Tuna Research Program (GBYP) is a large-scale scientific tagging program to address these and other important biological and ecological issues regarding Atlantic Bluefin tuna. The tagging program envisioned by the GBYP would commence in 2011 and continue for several years, covering the entire geographic distribution of Atlantic Bluefin tuna (western North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea). Extant funding proved insufficient to completely achieve this goal, and the GBYP steering committee elected to focus on conventional tagging of juvenile Bluefin tuna (primarily ages 1-3) in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. However, the GBYP encouraged commensurate levels of conventional tagging of age 1-3 Bluefin tuna in the Western Atlantic using the GBYP protocols wherever possible. This statement of work calls for large-scale conventional tagging of age 1-3 Bluefin tuna in the western Atlantic Ocean, to be carried out over two years commencing in October 2011 (tagging at least 4,000 fish over the two-year period). The conventional tags and anchors (10,000) will be supplied by the Southeast Fisheries Science Center. The Southeast Fisheries Science Center will coordinate the management of the release/recapture information through its Cooperative Tagging Center, including submission of the data to ICCAT. Quotations should include a complete description of the design of the tagging study, including the measures that will be taken to ensure the tagged population is well-mixed with the untagged population. Ideally, this would be achieved by tagging over the entire spatio-temporal distribution of juvenile Bluefin tuna in the western Atlantic in proportion to the local abundance of Bluefin tuna. In practice, the local abundance of Bluefin tuna is difficult to determine on a synoptic scale. An alternative plan would be to distribute the tagging effort evenly over the appropriate spatial domain, but this would likely result in an inefficient sampling scheme with much effort directed in areas with little or no fish. A successful experimental design must balance logistical considerations with the requirement to tag in a way that allows conclusions from the tagged population to legitimately be extended to the untagged population. For example, a first step to achieve this would be to develop a team of taggers and platforms that cover the full range of school Bluefin tuna in the western Atlantic. Objectives The specific objectives of the tagging program will be to: a) characterize the spatio-temporal range of juvenile Bluefin tuna (ages 1-3) in the western Atlantic Ocean b) design a program that places conventional tags on juvenile Bluefin tuna (ages 1-3) in approximate proportion to their local abundance over the spatio-temporal domain identified in (a). c) deploy conventional tags according to the design from objective (b) using tag types, methods and protocols consistent with those specified by the GBYP program for the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. d) conduct double tagging experiments analogous to those specified by the GBYP to estimate tag shedding rates e) develop and implement a communication and awareness strategy to improve the tag recovery rate and the tag reporting rate Description of the work The contractor will work in close consultation with the Southeast Fishery Science Center and ICCAT GBYP Coordinator and Steering Committee to develop and implement a conventional tagging program for juvenile (age 1-3) Bluefin tuna in the western Atlantic Ocean. The design should address both the release and recovery of tags. This will include a) Full description of the work carried out in developing the design b) Recommendation of a design based on how it will meet the program objectives c) Milestones against which the progress of the tagging study can be monitored d) Detailed description of the tag release strategy e) Identification of potential shortcomings of the design, e.g., low reporting rates. The quoter shall provide a detailed description of the design and the associated methods in their quotation. Deliverables 1) A preliminary progress report summarizing the release/recapture efforts, to be submitted at the latest by 6 December 2011. 2) A short PowerPoint presentation of the main results to the ICCAT SCRS 2011 or to any other ICCAT SCRS meeting. 3) The definitive final report, to be prepared taking into account the eventual comments provided by ICCAT and to be submitted each year by 7 September (2012 and 2013). 4) Provide ICCAT with electronic files of conventional tagging results in ICCAT tagging format at regular intervals to be determined. 5) Publish findings in peer-reviewed journals, collaborating with SEFSC staff and GYBP participants as appropriate. IT Security Information: The C&A requirement of clause CAR 1352.239-72 Security Requirements for Information Technology Resources (April 2011) does not apply, and a Security Accreditation Package is not required. QUOTATION PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS: A. General Instructions: (1) A quote shall comply in all material respects with this RFQ and will represent the quoter's acceptance of all the terms and conditions of the request. The quoter shall provide the documentation required to meet the minimum requirement and a narrative response for each evaluation factor. If a quoter has no relevant past performance history, a quoter must affirmatively state that it possesses no relevant past performance history. Quotes are expected to conform to solicitation provisions and be prepared in accordance with this section. Incomplete quotes may not be considered and may be removed from further consideration. To aid in evaluation, the quotes shall be clearly and concisely written. (2) DOC, Eastern Acquisition Division - Kansas City Office requires that all contractors doing business with this office be registered with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). No award can be made to a company not registered in CCR. For additional information and to register in CCR please access the following web site: http://www.ccr.gov. In order to register, all offerors must have a Dunn & Bradstreet Number. A Dunn & Bradstreet number may be acquired free of charge by contacting Dunn & Bradstreet on-line at http://www.dnb.com/eupdate or by phone at (800) 333-0505. All contractors are also required to complete Online Representations and Certifications Applications (ORCA) at http://ORCA.BPN.GOV. (3) Electronic versions of all quotes must be received at Sharon.Clisso@noaa.gov in MSWord or Adobe acrobat pdf format by no later than 10:00 AM CDT on August 23, 2011. (4) Questions may be submitted to Sharon.Clisso@noaa.gov no later than August 9, 2011. Telephone inquiries will not be honored. B. Overall Arrangement of Quote: The following information and documents are required for submission in response to this Request for Quotation, in accordance with the guidelines outlined below. Quotation Content: Each quotation shall consist of two (2) separate electronic (or hard copy) files: (1) technical and (2) pricing. No pricing information shall be included in the technical portion of the quotation. TECHNICAL PORTION: The technical portion shall include the following: Factor 1 - Experience in implementing conventional tagging programs, particularly for smaller school size fish (ages 1-3). Quoter must provide evidence that they have experience in implementing conventional tagging programs, particularly for smaller school size fish (ages 1-3). Factor 2 - Experience in developing statistically efficient designs for conventional tagging programs. Quoter must provide evidence that they have experience in developing statistically efficient designs for conventional tagging programs. Factor 3 - Demonstrated record of scientific excellence. Quoter must provide evidence of publications in scientific journals on statistics, fish population dynamics and stock assessment. Factor 4 - Knowledge of the ICCAT system and ICCAT assessment procedures. Quoter must provide evidence that they have knowledge of the ICCAT system and ICCAT assessment procedures. Factor 5 - Past Performance. Quoter shall provide references and clearly address recent relevant work (both Government and non-Government); contracts and subcontracts. The quoter shall include the name of the customer, including contracting agency; address and phone number; contract number; type of contract; dollar value; date of contract; period of performance; place of performance; and a brief description of the work scope and responsibilities. If the quoter has no relevant past performance history, a quoter must affirmatively state that it possesses no relevant past performance history. PRICING PORTION: The quoter shall provide pricing. If the quote does not contain pricing, the quote may be considered non-responsive and may be rejected. EVALUATION--COMMERCIAL ITEMS The Government will issue a purchase order resulting from this RFQ to the responsible quoter whose quote, conforming to the solicitation is judged, by an integrated assessment of the price and non-price factors, to provide the best value to the government. NOAA will evaluate the quoter's proposed prices for fairness and reasonableness in relation to the RFQ's requirements. Non-priced factors, when combined, are significantly more important than price. The following non-price factors shall be used to evaluate quotes. The Factors are listed in descending order of importance. Factor 1 - Experience in implementing conventional tagging programs. NOAA will evaluate the quoter's experience to determine the extent to which the quoter has implemented conventional tagging programs. Preference will be given for experience in implementing conventional tagging programs for smaller school size fish (ages 1-3). Factor 2 - Experience in developing statistically efficient designs for conventional tagging programs. NOAA will evaluate the quoter's experience to determine the extent to which the quoter has developed statistically efficient designs for conventional tagging programs. Factor 3 - Demonstrated record of scientific excellence. NOAA will evaluate the quoter's publications in scientific journals on statistics, fish population dynamics and stock assessment to determine the extent of the quoter's scientific excellence. Factor 4 - Knowledge of the ICCAT system and ICCAT assessment procedures. NOAA will evaluate the extent to which the quoter's knowledge of the ICCAT system and ICCAT assessment demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of the requirements to successfully perform the contract. Factor 5 - Past Performance: NOAA will evaluate the relevance and quality of the quoter's past performance information. In evaluating quality, NOAA will evaluate the quality of the service and timeliness of performance. The Government will assign a neutral rating to quotes with no relevant past performance.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NOAA/CASC/WC133F-11-RQ-1105/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Geographic distribution of small Bluefin tuna in western Atlantic Ocean, United States
- Record
- SN02519314-W 20110804/110802235917-cf01bfd5783923445a5dd071ab178e54 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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