Notice of Intent to negotiate sole source contract to HECTOR J RUIZ TORRES

o Rico for Deepwater Reef Fish Survey. The applicable Size Standard is North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 541690 with a Small business size standard of $19.0M Dollars. This Sole Source Determination is based on NOAAA's requirement that is the only Vendor that provides the required service. The scientific and technical consulting contractor shall provide vessels, captains, and observers that meet the specifications outlined in this document. The vessels will be used in performing deployment and retrieval of hook and line fishing equipment at each grid, and acquiring biological samples and general fish information of targeted and incidental catch. The vessel(s) will be required to complete a total of no more than 250 grids, island-wide, as determined by grid selection from 20 - 450 m depths. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: Sampling will be conducted by commercial fishing vessels island-wide around Puerto Rico. The vessel daily rate shall include services of captain and observer on board, gas for commercial vessel to complete the scientific work, transit to and from port, cost of bait for the scientific work for the hook and line fishing, the deep-drop fishing gear including line, hooks, reels, floats, or weights, and time required to extract any biological samples. The vessel daily rate should also include the delivery and collection of supplies and/or samples shipping to and from NOAA; and back and forth between contractor headquarters and the Puerto Rico DNER. Fishermen may need to mobilize from ports outside of their home port to target all fishing grids selected for sampling. Datasheets, fish biological and tissue sampling supplies, and stopwatches for timing deployments will be provided by NOAA fisheries. The Contractor provided observer will assist with field work. The contractor is responsible for providing an observer to conduct the required field work. Data collection protocols, biological sample collection, photo uploading and datasheet uploading shall be conducted by the observer(s) in accordance with the NOAA protocols defined and provided for this project. No more than 250 sampling grids will be selected at random, island-wide, stratified by depth (20 - 450 m) and rugosity scores as defined by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) multibeam backscatter and bathymetry data. Grid name, corresponding coordinates, depth, and strata will be provided by NOAA Fisheries to the contractor, as well as alternative grids, and plotted maps of the grids. The contractor will be responsible for distributing sample grid lists to the commercial fishing vessels and observers. This project will utilize commercial fishermen operating their own vessels with a local fishery observer onboard in Puerto Rico to generate CPUE, length composition, diversity indices, and distribution information for both exploited and non-target species using standardized hook and line fishing methods around the island. Selected grids will utilize two bait types while fishing (squid and tuna). The allotted soak time for the fishing line will not exceed a total of 30 minutes (total bottom time) at each grid. The fishing equipment must be deployed in the corresponding grid provided on the datasheet. This field setup will remain standardized for the entirety of this proposed project. The exact latitude and longitude in decimal degrees will be recorded at the exact time the fishing line and S-BRUV undergo deployment and retrieval by the observer on board, as will depth. The sampling day will consist of an average of 5 successful hook and line drops, but may vary based on location of grids and weather. DELIVERY SCHEDULE: Scientific and technical consulting contractor will deliver the following to the Project Lead and Contracting Officer Representative if no other designee is listed: Deliverable 1: No less than 250 completed fishing grids stratified island wide by depth (20-450 m) ; Due Before 12/31/2027 or applicable period of performance end date Deliverable 2: Whole fish (queen, black, silk, blackfin, cardinal, vermilion and wenchman snapper; misty grouper; red hind) collected and stored according to protocols for biological sampling on land. This includes additional data such as length, weight, and photos as defined in the biological sampling protocols; Due Before 12/31/2027 or applicable period of performance end date Deliverable 3: Fish tissue samples collected according to protocols. Delivery of tissue samples shipped via shipped via UPS or FedEx to NMFS, Attn: Kate Overly, Panama City Fisheries, 3500 Delwood Beach Road, Panama City, FL 32408; Due Before 12/31/2027 or applicable period of performance end date Deliverable 4: All site datasheets will be provided via scans and uploaded to google drive. Site datasheets will be shipped via UPS or FedEx following their upload to the google drive to NMFS at the end of the project period, Attn: Kate Overly, Panama City Fisheries, 3500 Delwood Beach Road, Panama City, FL 32408; Due Before 12/31/2027 or applicable period of performance end date. **THIS 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 TO THE IDENTIFIED POINT OF CONTACT WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THIS SYNOPSIS. 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 CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT, BASED UPON RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE, IS SOLELY WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNMENT. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE. Attachments: Single Source Determination