NEAquarium live turtle study

The Government intends to solicit and negotiate on a sole source basis with the New England Aquarium, Central Wharf , Boston , MA for the following requirement: This requirement is for labor and material to perform a health assessment on the health of wild caught leatherbacks in the western North Atlantic .. All work to be in accordance with the Statement of Work included in the solicitation. The final report for this contract shall be submitted no later than March 16, 2009 but the contract will be from one year from award datte . Deliverables to be delivered to NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. In order to comply with the debt collection improvement act of 1966, all contractors must be registered in the central contractor registration (CCR) to be considered for an award of a federal contract. For information regarding registration in CCR contact the CCR website at www.ccr.gov/index.cfm. Authority: 41 USC 253(c)(1). The FSC for this is R499 and the NAICS Code is 712130, small business size standard is $6.5 million. The government intends to award a firm-fixed price purchase order for this requirement . The proposed contract is to perform an in-water health assessment on endangered leatherback sea turtles to increase understanding of the various health problems facing leatherback sea turtles and to improve understanding of the basic biomedical parameters of this species. The contractor must be permitted under a NMFS Federal scientific permit for research on endangered leatherback sea turtles. The project entails gaining access to live, wild, free-swimming or entangled leatherback sea turtles in the U.S. North Atlantic waters, performing a full physical health assessment of the animals; collecting blood, cloacal, nasal, and urine samples; sample processing; and the interpretation of the lab results. The information gained from this study will provide a foundation for future health assessments of free-ranging and stranded leatherbacks, as well as highlight areas where further investigation is warranted The proposed contract action is for supplies or services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 6.302(c)(1). Interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit a proposal. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. However, all proposals received by 9am August 11, 2009 will be considered by the government. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement in the future. Evidence must be provided of ability to perform the required study. Responses to this notice, if any, must show clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the government. Inquiries will only be accepted via email to [email protected].