A -- Industry Based Survey

The Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Administrative Support Center (EASC) intends to negotiate on a sole source basis a modification to contract EA133F-03-CN-0011 with the State of Massachusetts, Division of Marine Resources, to increase research services for Atlantic Cod distribution. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts currently provides these services to the National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Regional Office, Cooperative Research Partners Initiative, Gloucester, Massachusetts. The program objective is to define a broad scale distribution of cod aggregations in the Gulf of Maine, in a temporal and spatial scale sufficient for management purposes, by age and size composition. Information on cod population age structure, growth rates, spawning sizes and seasonality, and associations with other species and habitat are collected through this program. The Massachusetts DMF is uniquely qualified to perform because they have the unique survey trawls specifically designed to catch a full range of cod year classes, while targeting the larger spawning size fish. This allows fishing over all substrate types that are encountered during the survey (e.g., soft mud to hard rocky ledge). The DMF possesses the equipment and scientific personnel with extensive experience related to this survey design and methodology to ensure the survey continues unabated. The proposed increase in scope is anticipated to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT). The statutory authority for this action is 41 USC 253( c)(1), Only One Responsible Source.