Description
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Eastern Region Acquisitions Division-Kansas City office intends to award, on a sole source basis, under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), with the Bon Secour Fisheries, Inc., 27449 County Road 49 South, Bon Secour, AL 336511, to charter a commercial shrimp vessel for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Galveston, TX. A Sources Sought notice was posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website on July 19, 2016 and closed on July 28, 2016. No responses were received. Background As a result of management issues in the Gulf of Mexico calling for the collection of additional bycatch data from the offshore shrimp fleet, the NMFS has been mandated to conduct a research project to determine the effectiveness of video monitoring in determining the types and volumes of bycatch caught by the fishery. Furthermore, NMFS is the action authority to conserve sea turtles and other protected species under the ESA and to manage federal shrimp fishing under the Magnuson-Stevenson Fishery and Management Act (MSFSC) (16 U.S.C. §1801 et seq.). Protected species catch values are based on catch estimates from observer data and estimated compliance of Turtle Excluder Devise (TED) regulations. Recent data on TED compliance suggests the allotted incidental capture of sea turtles could be exceeded which could trigger an automatic closure of the fishery. Therefore, it is imperative that NMFS attempt to validate current catch estimates by increasing the percentage of monitoring coverage. Placing more observers on vessels is, at this time, cost prohibitive and impractical. It is the intent of this project to supplement observer coverage of the shrimp trawl fishery by utilizing video camera monitoring to supplement observer coverage. In accordance with Federal Regulations (622.9 (b)) for shrimp fisheries in the GOM, commercial shrimp vessels will be contracted to carry NMFS approved observers to test the effectiveness of video monitoring to increase the percentage of monitoring effort in the fishery. As such, the government requires the procurement of vessel services to support multiple Southeast Science Center (SEFSC) video electronic monitoring (EM) trips aboard commercial shrimp vessels operating in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico to validate the effectiveness of these systems to monitor smalltooth sawfish and other protected species interactions, and to estimate the amount of shrimp and other associated bycatch. To increase diversity and reduce bias between vessels utilizing different gear types and employing different fishing methods vessels were solicited from different regions of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico (by sector). This BPA is solely for sector three of the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The vessel is to provide approximately 90 sea days during the performance period. If the vessel does not complete the requested number of sea days during the 2016 year, the remaining sea days may be completed in the following option year. Sole Source Justification The vessel meets the criterion required for electronic monitoring through video camera installation. The contractor's vessel has (1) a current (within 2 years) US Coast Guard Safety Inspection Decal displayed onboard the vessel; (2) a valid federal shrimp permit; (3) provide the observer with accommodations and food equivalent to that provided to the crew; (4) allow the observer or crew under the direction of NMFS and Saltwater, Inc. or another vendor to make required modifications to cameras and EM gear; (5) allow two-to-three days for installation of equipment, time for data retrieval, and potential time for electronic malfunctions due to at-sea operations; (6) allow the observer to weigh separately and process any biological specimens collected; (7) allow the observer to sample the two outside nets to obtain bycatch characterization data and total shrimp values by isolating the catches from the two inside nets;(8) be equipped with a 110-power conversion system, with backup for electronic system only; (9) be equipped with power take off (PTO) or equivalent winch; (10) be equipped for four trawls and one try net with functional BRD and TEDs; (11) be a vessel 60 feet or greater overall length; (12) have been selected to have a certified NMFS observer under the NMFS mandatory shrimp observer program; (13) have a Captain/owner is proficient in otter-trawl design and related gear; (14) be willing to deploy with an observer immediately; (15) fish in sector three Bon Secour (east side of Mobile Bay) eastward to Apalachicola, Florida.