This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial services prepared and processed in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this announcement. This is a Solicitation from the United States Department of Commerce (DOC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Mississippi Laboratories located in Pascagoula, MS to provide vessel charters, with crew that will conduct two phase operations consisting of Phase 1 ? 5 days for comparative towing with flynet trouser trawl; Phase 2 - 3 days for flynet trawl Turtle Excluder Devices (TED), it is the Governments intent to award 3 separate purchase orders with each purchase order requiring the vendor to be responsible for conducting the work needed for both phases. This constitutes the only Request for Quote (RFQ), written offers are being requested; and a written RFQ will not be issued. DOC, CRAD 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 Dun & Bradstreet Number. A Dun & Bradstreet number may be acquired free of charge by contacting Dun & Bradstreet on-line at https://www.dnb.com/product/eupdate/requestOptions.html or by phone at (800) 333-0505. This notice is hereby issued as RFQ No. NFFN7300722688CMM. This RFQ and the incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-18. The line item(s) will be provided in accordance with the specifications listed herein. The prices shall be all inclusive of costs. The FAR clauses incorporated into this acquisition shall be: 52.212-1 Instruction to Offerors ? Commercial Items (Nov 2006), 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications ? Commercial Items (Nov 2005), 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions ? Commercial Items (Feb 2007), 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders ? Commercial Items (Jun 2007) (Sections 5, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 28, 33, (c) (1) (2) (GS Equivalents have not been identified) ), 52.216-28 Multiple Awards for Advisory and Assistance Services (Oct. 1995). FAR clauses are available on the Internet Website http://www.arnet.gov/far. The following Commerce Acquisition Regulations (CAR) are also incorporated into this acquisition: 1352.201-70 Contracting Officer?s Authority (Feb. 2005), 1352.211-70 Statement of Work/Specifications (Mar 2000), 1352.215-70 Period of Performance (Mar. 2000) {the period of performance of this contract will be October 1, 2007 through March 31, 2008}, 1352.215-77 Evaluation Utilizing Simplified Acquisition Procedures (Mar 2000) {The Government will award a purchase order resulting from this request to the responsible firm whose quotation conforming to the request results in the best value to the Government price and other technical factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate quotes: Ability to meet or exceed the vessel requirements, vessel equipment requirements and crew requirements, experience and past performance in providing the services as described herein.}, 1352.252-70 Regulatory Notice (Mar. 2000). Full text of these CAR clauses is available at http://oamweb.osec.doc.gov/docs/DOC_Local_Clauses_PM2000-03A2.pdf. Signed and dated offers must be submitted to the U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA/CRAD, Attn: Carey Marlow, Room 1756, 601 East 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106. Offers must be received on or before 2:00 pm CDT, Friday, September 7, 2007. Offers may be faxed to 816-274-6923 or submitted via email to
[email protected] . Quotes submitted in response to this notice should include the following: 1. Technical ? Written documentation that provides the following: a). A description of the vessel that will be used to provide the service and how it meets or exceeds the vessel requirements as described in the SOW. b). Resumes that describe the experience as it relates to the Crew requirements specified in the SOW. c). Confirm availability to perform within the required schedule. 2. A list of references including name and telephone numbers of firms to whom the offeror has provided service that is the same or equal to that described herein. 3. A completed price schedule for all line items identified in this notice. 4. FAR provision 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications ? Commercial Items (completed), or a statement verifying that this has been done through ORCA. 5. Certification of registration in CCR. This is a firm fixed price request for quote. SCOPE OF WORK: The Contractor shall provide a trawl vessel with the equipment identified elsewhere in this document; captain and crew; fuel; food and berthing accommodations equal to that of the crew for up to two NOAA Fisheries gear specialists; and all other material necessary to complete the work identified below. BACKGROUND: 1. Flynet trawls are currently exempt from turtle excluder device (TED) regulations. NOAA Fisheries is considering the implementation of TED regulations for the flynet fishery, pending the development of practical and efficient TEDs for these large trawls. The NOAA Fisheries Harvesting Systems Team has worked cooperatively with several North Carolina flynet fishermen to develop a working TED and to assess the effect which TEDs may have on the target catch. However, quantifying catch loss for the various TED prototypes developed for this fishery has proven difficult. 2. Vessels that participate in this fishery are rigged to tow a single net. This feature combined with a fishing technique that targets individual dense schools of fish results in highly variable catch rates and poses a problem when it comes to traditional gear evaluations designed to determine the amount of catch loss associated with TED use. The traditional method used with vessels rigged to tow single trawls is the alternate haul method and would consist of alternating tows with and without a TED installed. Sample size calculations based on observed catch variability for this fishery and the alternate haul experimental design projected that between 720 and 2,184 total tows would be needed to effectively test a single TED. Based on the sample size calculation and projected costs, it is clear that this technique is not cost effective for this fishery. 3. A better alternative is the ?trouser trawl? technique, which consists of a standard trawl modified with two codends and dividing panel that runs the length of the trawl body. The advantage of this technique is that it takes simultaneous samples in each codend resulting in lower variability between control and experimental catches producing a cost effective technique that requires fewer tows to detect significant differences between treatments. The Harvesting Systems Team has purchased a standard 85 ft flynet and recently applied a trouser trawl modification with a vertical dividing panel. The trawl was modified and inspected by the Team?s Fisheries Methods and Equipment Specialist staff and has been recommended for commercial evaluations. 4. The proposed work will assess the use of the flynet trouser trawl as an effective comparative towing technique for the flynet fishery. In addition, the work will determine the amount of catch loss associated with TED use in this fishery and operational feasibility of each TED design. The trouser trawl and TED assessment will be completed through the charter of a commercial flynet trawl vessels. The proposed charter will be conducted on traditional flynet fishing grounds along the North Carolina coast during the flynet fishing season, which typically occurs between October and March. The chartered vessels shall notify NOAA Fisheries staff regarding target catch availability, weather and vessel dates of availability during this time period. NOAA Fisheries staff will coordinate sailing schedules among vessels to prevent conflicts and ensure all work can be completed during the time period. The chartered vessels shall be used to evaluate the trouser trawl as an effective comparative towing technique and to determine target catch loss associated with TED use in this fishery. The work shall be conducted in two phases: ? Phase I Comparative towing with a flynet trouser trawl to determine catch loss associated with three TED prototypes. ? Phase II Determine the operational feasibility of prototype TEDs Phase I of the study shall last for a period of 15 working days. Using the chartered vessels as a platform, the gear modifications will be evaluated by NOAA Fisheries gear specialists. Phase II of the study shall last for a period of nine (9) working days. Using the chartered vessels as a platform, prototype TEDs will be evaluated by NOAA Fisheries gear specialists and certified observers. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The work described herein shall be performed in two phases. Phase I shall be completed during 15 days between October 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008. Phase II shall be completed during nine (9) days between October 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008. Description of Work: Phase I October 1, 2007-March 31, 2008 The Contractor shall notify NOAA Fisheries staff of vessel availability dates based on target catch availability and weather. Once notified, NOAA Fisheries gear specialists will travel to the vessel and meet with the captain to go over gear testing protocols, load equipment, TEDs and install the flynet trouser trawl. When weather permits, the Contractor shall depart for the fishing grounds (up to 8 hour run). Individual vessels trips shall be up to three days in length. Once the vessel arrives on the fishing grounds, the captain shall begin towing and shall continue around the clock for up to three days or until contract days are complete. A minimum of three (3) successful tows must be completed during each contract day. A successful tow is defined as a trouble-free tow with a minimum total catch of 2,000 lbs of Atlantic croaker. Catches for each side of the trouser trawl must remain separate until sampling is complete. A NOAA fisheries staff member will notify the captain when sampling is completed. A NOAA fisheries gear specialist and/or a NOAA certified observer will sample each tow and record fishery-specific data on target and non-target species from each side of the trawl. If the vessel is required to return to port before testing is completed then NOAA Fisheries gear specialists may remain on call in the area until the vessel departs again or arrangements to conduct the next trip have been made. NOAA Fisheries will not pay for weather days that require the vessel to remain in port. The Contractor and NOAA Fisheries gear specialists shall continue to conduct trips during this time period until all contract days are completed. In addition to sampling the catch, NOAA Fisheries gear specialists will install camera equipment at various locations throughout the trawl to documents gear performance and fish behavior. This shall require crew assistance and designated work areas on the vessel. Phase II October 1, 2007-March 31, 2008 The Contractor shall notify NOAA Fisheries staff regarding vessel availability dates based on target catch availability and weather. Once notified, NOAA Fisheries gear specialists will travel to the vessel and meet with the captain to go over gear testing protocols, load equipment, and install a prototype TED in the vessel?s standard flynet trawl. When weather permits, the Contractor shall depart for the fishing grounds (up to 8 hour run). An individual vessels trip shall be up to three days in length. Once the vessel arrives on the fishing grounds, the captain shall begin towing and shall continue around the clock for up to three days or until contract days are complete. A minimum of three (3) successful tows must be completed during each contract day. A successful tow is defined as a trouble-free tow with a minimum total catch of 2,000 lbs of Atlantic croaker. Catches must remain on deck until sampling is complete. A NOAA fisheries staff member will notify the captain when sampling is completed. A NOAA fisheries gear specialist and/or a NOAA certified observer will sample each tow and record fishery-specific data on target and non-target species from the catch trawl. If the vessel is required to return to port before testing is completed then NOAA Fisheries gear specialists may remain on call in the area until the vessel departs again or arrangements to conduct the next trip have been made.. NOAA Fisheries will not pay for weather days that require the vessel to remain in port. The Contractor and NOAA Fisheries gear specialists shall continue to conduct trips during this time period until all contract days are completed. In addition to sampling the catch, NOAA Fisheries gear specialists will install camera equipment at various locations throughout the trawl to documents gear performance and fish behavior. This shall require crew assistance and designated work areas on the vessel. Vessel Schedule: Phase I Day 1: Travel to fishing grounds and begin comparative towing with trouser trawl Day 2-5: Continue comparative towing as long as weather and fish availability permit. Return to port when all contract days are completed Phase II Day 1: Travel to fishing grounds and begin towing with a standard flynet with a prototype TED installed. Day 2-3: Continue towing as long as weather and fish availability permit. Return to port when all contract days are completed Vessel Requirements: 1. Stern trawl fishing vessel with hydraulic net reel with capacity for holding a single 85-foot headrope flynet. 2. Vessel engine power sufficient to tow an 85 ft. headrope length flynet spread by steel ?V? doors at a minimum of 3.5 knots over the bottom. 3. Sufficient bunk space to accommodate up to two NOAA Fisheries staff. 4. An indoor area that can be designated for camera equipment set up and break down. Other Vessel Equipment Requirements: The vessel shall have the following: a. One each flynet 85 ft or greater. b. Fathometer- for determining bottom depth. c. Radar d. GPS vessel positioning unit. e. Vessel track plotter. f. Current U.S. Coast Guard Safety Inspection certification. Crew Requirements: 1. Captain and crew experienced in deployment, retrieval and repair of flynet trawls and trawl doors. 2. Captain and crew experienced in installation of TEDs and TED components. This acquisition will require the services of contractor personnel and contractor owned computer system. NOAA IT systems and/or NOAA network access are not required. The information collected is public data access and is not restricted. The Certification & Accreditation requirements of clause CAR 1352.73 do not apply and a Security Accreditation Package is not required. NOTE: THE ABOVE ARE MIMUMUM REQUIREMENTS. BID FORMAT: Provide itemized pricing as follows: TOTAL Line Item 1 ? Phase 1 ? Vessel charter with crew for comparative Towing with flynet trouser trawl as described herein. Period of performance will be 10/01/07 through 03/31/2008. (total of 5 days) $_________________ Line Item 2 ? Phase 2 ? Vessel Charter with crew for flynet Trawl Turtle Excluder Devices (TED) as described herein. Period of performance will be 10/01/07 through 03/31/2008. (total of 3 days) $_________________ FOB Destination GRAND TOTAL: $_________________ (Total of Line Item 1-2)