VEMCO TRANSMITTERS AND RECEIVERS Special Notice of Intent to Award a Sole Source Procurement THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTE. THIS IS A NOTICE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S INTENT TO ISSUE A SOLE SOURCE AWARD. This Notice is to announce that the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Great Lakes Science Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan is proposing to negotiate a contract with InnovaSea Marine Systems Canada Inc (Vemco), on a sole source basis. This requirement is for Acoustic Transmitters and Accessories. The proposed action is for products for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), based on the following rationale: 1. Vemco is the only manufacturer of fish tags that can be decoded by acoustic receivers already owned by the USGS and USGS partners within the Great Lakes. 2. Vemco tag IDs and deployments are managed through the Vemco tag ID database which is solely owned and accessible by Vemco. Proper management of tag ID's is critical to ensure that signals from acoustic-tagged fish do not interfere with one another, leading to data loss and mission failure. 3. Vemco is the only manufacturer of acoustic receivers that offers an integrated receiver-acoustic release (the V2AR) which is needed by GLSC projects conducting research in deep-water environments. Acoustic receivers that offers an integrated receiver-acoustic release (the V2AR) which is needed by GLSC projects conducting research in deep-water environments. None of the receivers manufactured by other manufacturers come equipped with an integrated acoustic release. 4. Vemco is the only vendor that manufactures acoustic tags that transmit at the specified frequency (69 kHz) and also meet all size (diameter < 12 mm, length < 40), power ( ¿ 145 db), and battery life requirements (operational life ¿ 2 yrs). This is a sole source notice published for informational purposes only and not a request for competitive quotes. Therefore, no solicitation document exists for this requirement. However, responsible parties interested in responding to this notice may submit a capability statement by the time and date specified in this notice that provides sufficient details for consideration by the Government for future requirements, via email to:
[email protected]. The determination not to compete the contract based on the responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Phone calls will not be accepted in response to this notice.