Special Notice: FD-2024-196

NOAA / NMFS / AKFSC

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AKFSC), intends to award, on a sole source basis, under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), with Marport Americas, Inc. of Mukilteo, Washington, to procure the following:

Repair and maintenance services for existing Marport net mensuration systems, including battery and o-ring evaluations and replacement, when needed; repair to damaged units; replacement of charging shoulder bolts, when needed; and replacement and upgrade of net mensuration system circuit boards to PCBA A2S Gen 4 boards to meet current technology.

The AKFSC is responsible for research on living marine resources in the coastal oceans off Alaska and off parts of the west coast of the United States. This region of nearly 3 million square miles includes the North Pacific Ocean and the eastern Bering Sea which support some of the most important commercial fisheries in the world. The AKFSC Groundfish Assessment Program conducts five different fishery-independent groundfish trawl surveys in Alaska. All of these surveys utilize net mensuration systems to track the performance of the fishing gear to ensure that it is within strict survey standards. These systems are also used to estimate the area of the seafloor sampled during each tow and this is used to derive a standardized catch per unit effort (CPUE), allowing direct comparison between all the tows in a survey time series. To avoid biased estimation of CPUE, it is very important that the methods used to estimate this fundamental quantity are the same between tows and between years so that the observed change in populations over time reflect actual changes in population and are not an artifact of changes in estimation methods. Marport net mensuration systems are now the standard system for estimating net mensuration and have been used on these surveys for many years. In addition to the standardization issues, the systems and sensors are completely interchangeable between surveys and vessels which greatly simplifies setup, operation, troubleshooting, maintenance and training.

The applicable Size Standard is North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 334515, with a Small Business size standard of 750 employees.

The service maintenance and repair must come from Marport Americas, Inc, to meet the form, fit and function of the existing systems that have been purchased with Marport, in prior years. Marport Americas, Inc, is the only entity authorized to service the proprietary net mensuration systems. The Marport net mensuration systems were originally chosen as they provided interchangeability between surveys and vessels, which provided flexibility of moving systems as needed, with maintaining the same standards required for research surveys.

The Government intends to negotiate a firm fixed price contract. This Special Notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals and no solicitation package is available. However, firms that believe they can fully meet the Government's requirements may submit substantiating documentation in writing. Submissions are due no later than April 23, 2024 at 5pm Eastern Time. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice. Responses may be emailed to Christie.Lang@noaa.gov. Such documentation will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to compete this requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. It is the Government's belief that only can Marport Americas, Inc. of Mukilteo, Washington can provide the requirements stated above.

Attachment

Redacted Single Source Determination