SOURCES SOUGHT
B -- DEPLOY PASSIVE ACOUSTIC MONITORING UNITS TO DETECT AND RECORD VOCALIZATIONS OF NORTH RIGHT WHALES
- Notice Date
- 7/13/2012
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- 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
- NFFN7600-12-03563
- Archive Date
- 8/4/2012
- 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
- The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Acquisition Division - Kansas City Office, 601 East 12th Street, Room 1756, Kansas City, Missouri 64106 is conducting market research for the purpose of identifying sources who have demonstrated capabilities in providing the equipment and necessary technical support for the deployment and recovery of eight passive acoustic monitoring units in the waters between northern Florida and Cape Hatteras, NC to collect data on calving right whale vocalizations during the 2012/2013 winter calving season for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC), Miami, FL. This request for information is for planning purposes and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued No solicitation of offers is made by this synopsis. Background: Management of marine mammal populations falls within the jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972 and, for some species, under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. The agency is mandated to conserve the endangered species under its jurisdiction, and must undertake actions to prevent further decline of populations, facilitate their recovery, and safeguard the quality of their habitat. The population of right whales in the western North Atlantic is highly endangered. Ship strikes and fishing gear entanglements have led to an increase in mortality, resulting in a population decline. There is now a critical need to keep track of the number and distribution of whales throughout the year over large areas of their habitat. Efforts to survey right whales rely primarily on visual sightings of animals from vessels or aircraft. Photo-ID and molecular genetic techniques have advanced the understanding of calving rate, site fidelity, and population structure. Despite significant progress, the distribution of over half the right whale population is unknown for more than half the year. The major reason for this large uncertainty is due to the limited capabilities of present methods to sample for right whales for long periods of time over large portions of their habitat. During late fall, pregnant female right whales migrate along the U.S. Atlantic coast from New England to waters off of northern Florida and Georgia to give birth. Following a winter residency, newborn calves and females return north during March and April, again traveling through migratory corridors along the mid-Atlantic. Due to relatively low density of animals and the high degree of uncertainty in the timing of their movements, it is currently not possible to monitor for the presence of these whales using aerial or shipboard visual sighting surveys. Therefore, very little is known about the habitats used as migratory pathways by right whales. There is a significant risk of ship strike during this period as the whales move past several major ports of entry for large cargo vessels. It is notable that the four most recent documented right whale mortalities attributed to vessel collision have occurred in the mid-Atlantic. Right whales produce distinctive sounds throughout the year. Since 2000, several research groups, in cooperating with the National Marine Fisheries Service, have deployed autonomous acoustic recorders to acquire sounds in right whale critical habitat in New England (Cape Cod Bay and the Great South Channel) and in migratory corridors in the mid-Atlantic. These units, referred to as "Pop-ups", record continuously for periods of 2-3 months within the frequency range of right whale sounds. After recovery, detections of right whale sounds are used to estimate whale presence/absence, minimum numbers and relative density. Results from 2001 and 2002 in Cape Cod Bay indicate that the numbers and distributions of whales from acoustic detections are in general agreement with results from aerial surveys. Furthermore, in many cases when aerial surveys do not see any right whales and density is assumed to be very low, whales are detected on pop-ups. More recently, passive acoustic monitoring buoys have been developed and deployed that contain on-board signal processing software and cell or satellite phone communications capability. These buoys have the capability to identify detected right whale sounds, and communicate those detections autonomously with land-based stations in real-time. These buoys have been deployed successfully in Cape Cod Bay, and there are extant web-based computer systems to collect and display these data. The buoys therefore offer a continuous, real-time monitoring system to document right whale movements to help inform management and mitigation efforts. Auto-buoys deployed during the 2008/2009 to 2011/2012 calving seasons provided numerous detections of right whale calls. Because passive acoustic buoys can continuously monitor for right whales for a long period of time, they have the potential to effectively identify migratory pathways and thereby mitigate the interactions between migrating whales and commercial shipping. For this reason, NOAA Fisheries is proposing to continue a program to utilize autonomous passive acoustic monitoring devices to gather data on the presence of right whales in the southeast United States. The proposed passive acoustic program is part of a NOAA Fisheries sponsored coast-wide effort to evaluate risks to right whales throughout their range. Potential Requirements: 1) To deploy eight passive acoustic passive acoustic monitoring units in waters between northern Florida and Cape Hatteras, NC to collect data on calving right whale vocalizations during the 2012/2013 winter calving season (October 2012 - April 2013). The contractor shall include all costs associated with the deployment and recovery of the units including mooring equipment, vessel time, shipping, and technical support. 2) The units will be deployed during a six-month period beginning no later than 15 October 2012 and recovered approximately six months later (15 April 2013). 3) The contractor shall perform QA/QC checks on the data recovered from the units and provide hard drives or other media containing the recordings to the Government (NMFS - Southeast Fisheries Science Center). The units shall have the following capabilities: 1) Ability to record sounds in the frequency range of right whale contact calls to digital media for underwater deployments of at least 6 months. 2) Buoyant housings that can withstand water pressures at depths greater than 100 feet and sufficiently rugged to survive the high wave energy experienced on the Southeast Atlantic continental shelf during winter months. 3) Demonstrated past success in recording calls from right whales and other baleen whale species encountered along the U.S. Atlantic coast. Workplan The contractor shall provide the equipment and necessary technical support for the deployment and recovery of eight units in the southeastern United States during October 15 2012 - April 15 2013. The contractor shall be responsible for sub-contracting an appropriate vessel for deployment and recovery operations. The workplan will be similar in each of two option years beyond the base year. Period of performance The base period of performance will be from October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2013, inclusive. The contract will include two option years to be exercised at the discretion of the Government (October 1, 2013 - September 30, 2014 and October 1, 2014 - September 30, 2015). Conditions of Use; Assumption of Risk SEFSC will use the units in accordance with instructions provided by the contractor and will not modify or alter the units in any way. SEFSC assumes no liability for the loss of or damage to the units during their deployment. Quality Assurance/Progress/Compliance The contractor shall provide routine progress updates to the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) describing the deployment and operational status of the buoys throughout the performance period. Final Report - Two months (60 days) after conclusion of the monitoring period, the Contractor shall prepare and submit to the Government the following: (1) a comprehensive draft report containing the Contractor's findings and recommendations in conformity with the requirements of this contract and including (a) all necessary data, maps, and exhibits to support the findings and recommendations, (2) a brief summary of the report including short statements on the study's objectives, scope, methodology, information obtained, and conclusions, and (3) recorded acoustic data collected by the autonomous recording units for analysis by SEFSC. The Government will review the draft and return it to the Contractor within thirty (30) days after receipt with comments and instructions for a format to be used in the preparation of a final report. The Contractor shall incorporate the comments into a final report and provide to the Government thirty (30) days later. In the event the Government does not return the draft copy of the report to the Contractor within the prescribed period, the Contractor shall be permitted an extra day for each day of delay by the Government in the time required for the submission of the final report. The Government will not be liable for any increased costs by reason of any such delay. The Contractor's performance shall be assessed by the COR on the basis of the quality and content of the final report, which will be peer-reviewed by the COR, other SEFSC staff, and at least one external referee. Final payment under the contract shall be made only upon satisfactory completion of the work described herein, as determined by the COR. Deliverables Shipment of deliverable items, including reports, shall (unless otherwise specified) be to: NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center 75 Virginia Beach Dr. Miami, FL 33149 At the conclusion of the monitoring period, the Contractor shall provide in electronic and hard copy form a report summarizing the right whale detections during the season and evaluating the performance and effectiveness off the autonomous monitoring tools. Three copies of a draft final report of the results of analyses of acoustic data as specified above shall be provided in standard scientific journal format within 60 days after the completion of the data collection efforts. Any improvements in methodology identified in the course of the work shall be included in the draft final report. NMFS will circulate copies of the draft final report internally for review and comment, and provide comments and suggested revisions of the draft final report to the Contractor within thirty (30) days. NMFS shall be provided with two originals of the final report, as well as the best photographic copy of each individual right whale obtained during this project within thirty (30) days of return of the reviewed draft report to the contractor. NMFS regards dissemination of this work into the scientific literature as an essential part of the project, and expects the Contractor to publish in the peer-reviewed scientific literature pertinent results and findings in a timely fashion. The government reserves the right to use the findings of this project for internal management activities and for transmittal in internal reports and technical publications that do not constitute publication in the scientific literature. The Contractor's right to first publication of findings based on these data will be protected, including protection from third party use or publication of data and/or findings by the Government or other agencies or groups without the consent of the Contractor. Peer-reviewed publications from this work will be developed in collaboration with NOAA Fisheries, and NOAA Fisheries shall be provided with an opportunity to review and approve reports prior to publication. If, after three years, the Contractor has not published the findings of this project, the government reserves the right to publish the findings with appropriate credit to the Contractor for the original work. Criteria: All respondents to this notice must submit the following documentation: • Detailed descriptive literature of the autonomous recording units with the following minimum requirements: housing and anchorage that will allow deployment and recovery for up to six (6) months in waters >20 m deep; capability to record sounds in the frequency range of right whale vocalizations (<1kHz); capability to record data continuously for six (6) months; and acoustic release mechanism and fail-safe automatic release to facilitate the recovery of units without diving or dragging. • Description of experience to record right whale and other baleen whale vocalizations; deployment and recovery of similar units in right whale habitats; and evidence of scientific productivity related to right whale and other large whale acoustic detection including peer-reviewed scientific publications. HOW TO RESPOND: Responses shall include a capability statement with a narrative documenting the parties' qualifications to meet each of the criteria listed above and should also contain company name, address, point of contact, telephone number, fax number, DUNs number, and e-mail address. Responses are to be submitted electronically and not to exceed 20 pages. Responses must be received no later than 2:00 PM Central Time, July 20, 2012. Responses are to be sent to the following addressee: sharon.clisso@noaa.gov. Telephone responses are NOT solicited. A decision as to whether this acquisition is set-aside for small business will depend upon responses to this announcement. The applicable NAICS code is 541690.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NOAA/CASC/NFFN7600-12-03563/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Waters between northern Florida and Cape Hatteras, NC, United States
- Record
- SN02802366-W 20120715/120713235033-be4caf415012386b5f4fe20ed51ca94a (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |