Biennial Bottom Trawl Surveys of Alaskan Groundfish in the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, and Continental Slope of the Eastern Bering Sea
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC), Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering (RACE) Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is conducting market research for the purposes of identifying businesses that have demonstrated capability to provide a commercial stern trawler with an experienced crew to conduct stock assessment bottom trawl surveys of groundfish in the Gulf of Alaska (2017 and 2019) and in the Aleutian Islands (2018 and 2020). Each vessel will need to be completely rigged for trawling with a stern ramp and gallows or gantry, two net reels each with capacity for one standard, four-seam Poly Nor'Eastern bottom trawl, and be equipped with modern navigation, fish-finding, and communications electronics. The Alaska Fisheries Science Center RACE Division will provide the trawls, bridles, and trawl doors. The survey areas comprise stations at depths that range from 10 to 1,200 m (6-660 fm), requiring each vessel to have split trawl winches with a minimum of 1,463 m (800 fm) of 2.53 cm- (1 in-) diameter steel core trawl cable in good condition and available for fishing on each drum (not total capacity) but a preference for vessels having 1,830 m (1,000 fm) of 2.53 cm- (1 in-) diameter steel core trawl cable or more available for fishing on each drum (not total capacity) to ensure complete coverage of the deeper sites in the study areas. An experienced skipper and a four-member fishing crew will be needed to operate each vessel and the fishing gear, while a team of six scientists will direct survey operations. The Gulf of Alaska survey spans up to 75 days and will be conducted from mid-May to late July/early August where approximately 280 tows will be conducted by each of the three vessels involved in the survey. On alternate years, two vessels will conduct trawl surveys off the Aleutian Islands that span up to 70 days, completing approximately 210 tows for each of the two vessels involved, from early June to early August.
Additional optional charter days may be required to allow for the full completion of each survey and for related research, which can extend the contract for up to 40 additional charter days beyond the base charter days. Related research includes, but is not limited to: expanded trawl survey stations, collection of auxiliary oceanographic, acoustic, or biological samples, experimental gear comparison trials, and deployment of drop camera systems or camera-equipped AUV (autonomous underwater vehicles) or ROV (remotely operated vehicles) as needed to improve or enhance the delivery of estimates of groundfish and crab biomass and population size in support of stock assessments within the Alaska EEZ.
Key Requirements to Establish Technical Capability include but are not limited to:
· Minimum overall length (LOA) of 36.5 m (120 ft) and the vessel shall have been actively used for commercial trawling or research where trawl gear was used in the past 12 months.
· Minimum continuous horsepower output from main engine of 1,000 HP.
· Vessel must be able to tow the standard survey trawl, a 27.4/36.5 m (90/120 ft) Poly Nor’Eastern trawl (see Attachment 7) with rubber bobbin roller gear at a continuous speed of 5.6 km/hr (3 kts) under weather conditions considered safe and typical for survey sampling.
· Vessel must be able to maintain a minimum cruising speed of 16.8 km/hr (9 kts) in low sea states.
· Vessel must have fuel capacity for up to 50 days of continuous fishing operations.
· Completely rigged for trawling including: A stern ramp and gallows or gantry, two net reels, split trawl winches and an auto-trawl system. .
· A deck area, clear of obstructions, of at least 55.7 m2 (600 sq ft)
· Protected (sheltered from wind) and lighted areas on back deck with a combined area of at least 27.9 m2 (300 sq ft)
· Electric power (110/115 V.A.C.) outlets (minimum of two) near on-deck work area. Seawater deck hose for cleaning sorting table and sampling gear and for supplying fish holding tanks.
· A minimum of two deck bins, measuring at least 1.8 X 1.8 X 0.6 m (6 X 6 X 2 ft
· A hydraulic crane with the capability to extend out 3 m (10 ft) past the side of the vessel and lifting winches rated for handling fishing gear, sampling gear, and catches weighing as much as 5.4 mt (6 t) under dynamic load conditions. Dry storage area of at least 56.6 m3 (2,900 cu ft) in the hold for fishing gear and accessories.
· Dry storage area of at least 5.4 m3 (190 cu ft) in the main house for holding scientific supplies.
· A minimum of 4.2 m3 (150 cu ft) of freezer storage (exclusive of space for ship's stores) for stowing scientific samples and supplies.
· A suitable dedicated dry counter work space at least 0.6 X 1.2 m (2 X 4 ft) with adjacent 110/115 volt power outlets on the bridge for installation of Government-supplied personal computers, printer, GPS and trawl mensuration electronics.
· Access to and use of a suitable chart table.
· Two 1-inch diameter through-bulkhead access holes to the outside from bridge for the passage of GPS and hydrophone cables to Government computers and trawl mensuration units on the bridge.
· An office with a desk area (exclusive of galley and accessible at all times) at least 0.6 X 1.2 m (2 X 4 ft) with adjacent 110/115 volt power outlets for data management and analysis.
· Clean and sanitary accommodations for crew and scientific field party (maximum of 6 scientists) which may include both male and female scientists.
· Potable fresh water supply adequate for vessel and personal use (including showers and laundry) for 11 people for at least 25 days.
· A minimum of one head and one shower shall be available to the scientific field party. Washer and dryer for personal laundry.
· A skiff or rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) measuring at least 4.3 m (14 ft) LOA with an outboard motor (minimum 15 hp). Skiff to be rated at minimum of 400 kg (880 lbs) total carrying capacity.
· VHF-- a minimum of two sets.
· Two single side-band units with at least one being synthesized in the 2-18 MHz range.
· A system for switching to backup power (e.g., battery) for radio operation in the event of interruption of the normal power supply.
· Plotter (flatbed and/or CRT) with capability of plotting input from GPS.
· GPS (Global Positioning System) with a minimum of two units with at least six-channel, sequential capability to track satellites.
· Radar--2 units with a minimum range of 77.2 km (48 miles).
· Depth sounders:Color scope unit with minimum range of 1,100 m (600 fm) and operating in the 38-50 kHz range.
A comprehensive list of actual requirements will be included in the Statement of Work within the solicitation package document.
The Contractor shall furnish all necessary vessel(s), personnel, equipment, required for performance of the statement of work/specifications which will be provided in the Request for Proposal (RFP).
The proposed contract action is set aside 50% for small business and multiple contracts by be awarded from this solicitation. The NAICS code for this procurement is 483114 and the business size standard for this requirement is 500 employees. It is highly encouraged that any vendor meeting this size standard and desiring to be considered for award be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) using this NAICS code or a NAICS code with an equivalent size standard. For additional information and to register in SAM, please access the following web site: www.sam.gov. In order to register with the SAM, all offerors must also have a Dun & Bradstreet Number. A Dun & Bradstreet number may be acquired free of charge by contacting Dun & Bradstreet on-line at https://iupdate.dnb.com/iUpdate/viewiUpdateHome.htm or by phone at (866) 969-8491. It is also preferred that offerors to complete the electronic representations and certifications at the SAM website.
Any resulting contract will be awarded as a firm-fixed price type contract. Solicitation documents will be made available for download on or about January 17, 2017 at http://www.fbo.gov/. Paper copies of this solicitation will not be issued. Interested parties should use the FedBizOpps [Add to Watchlist] and [Add Me to Interested Vendors] features which provide a notification when the Request for Proposal (RFP) becomes available for download as well as all postings of information associated with this solicitation thereafter. Each potential offeror is responsible for checking the FedBizOpps website to gain all current information related to the solicitation. The solicitation and any further announcements regarding the solicitation will be posted only at http://www.fbo.gov/. ; The date offers are due will be stated within the solicitation documents and will be adjusted based upon the actual release date of the solicitation. All questions of any nature regarding this procurement should be sent in writing to the Carina Topasna at carina.topasna@noaa.gov and cc: Contracting Officer, Crystina Jubie at Crystina.R.Jubie@noaa.gov or via fax at (206)527-3916.
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CARINA TOPASNA, Contract Specialist, Phone 206-526-4395, Fax 206-526-6025, Email Carina.topasna@noaa.gov - Crystina R Jubie, Contracting Officer, Phone (206) 526-6036, Email crystina.r.jubie@noaa.gov
