Otolith Processing Equipment

Special Notice: The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) is awarding a Purchase Order for the purchase of Benetec Otolith Processing Equipment that includes the following items: 1) Resin Casting Molds - OTO 910; 2) Mounting Station - OTO 914; 3) Mini Fume Hood - OTO 919; 4) Otolith Mounting Jig - OTO 919; 5) 22 CCD Camera & 12" Monitor - OTO 919; 6) OTO-Lab 250B Bench top Diamond Sectioning Machine; 7) OTO Labcut 250B Additional Diamond Blade; 8) Slide Mounting Kit - OTO 926, 9) Leveling Station for Slide Preparation - OTO 911; 10) Mini Fume Hood for Slide Preparation - OTO 919; and 11) Stereo Viewing Station - OTO 940. The equipment is used for embedding, sectioning and mounting Otoliths for fish aging studies. Sole Source Justification: Benetec, Inc. is the only known manufacturer of Otolith preparation/processing equipment that allows for up to 50 Otoliths to be prepared and processed at one time instead of individual processing. Market research consisted of extensive searches and discussions with other users of this equipment. There are no other manufacturers that will allow for processing of 50 ololiths at one time. A sources sought notice was posted on FedBizOpps on August 6, 2010 for a 7-day posting and no responses received.