B -- Passive Acoustic Monitoring of Killer Whales and other Cetaceans

The Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) Marine Mammal Group focuses on emerging management issues of the Northwest region?s marine and anadromous resources. A major program element is research on Southern Resident Killer whales and the conservation of this population. The research includes study of the effects of noise, vessels, and contaminants, ecology, energetics, conservation biology, distribution and relationships to climate and environmental factors, and cumulative risk analyses. The NWFSC has a requirement to utilize acoustic listening devices to monitor the locations of killer whales, particularly those of the southern resident population, in areas outside of Puget Sound during the winter and spring seasons. The vendor shall provide acoustic recording devices capable of recording killer whale (and other cetacean) vocalizations, and ambient noise. The data collected must be of sufficient quality to allow for the identification of sounds to species for all cetaceans and killer whales to the acoustic clans described by Ford [1987]. At a minimum, data shall be collected and stored between 1 December and 1 June of each year. The acoustic data shall either be collected and stored continuously, or the recorders shall be equipped with hardware and/or software capable of identifying, storing, and recording cetacean sounds with at least a 95% probability of recording each cetacean call that actually occurred. The vendor shall be responsible for deploying and recovering the recording devices using a mooring/release system that allows recovery of any anchors. If necessary, the NWFSC will provide components for up to 6 moorings appropriate for use for this project. The vendor will be responsible for the servicing and/or replacement of devices in relation to the deployments, and securing the services of vessel(s) capable of deployment and recovery of these units. In National Marine Sanctuaries the vendor must use a recoverable anchor system using a design that has a demonstrated capability of being successfully recovered. Bi-monthly project progress reports shall be provided to the NWFSC. All acoustic data shall be provided to the NWFSC in a readily accessible format such that the data can be analyzed by commercially available acoustic analysis software. The vendor will provide data files from recovered instruments in a format suitable for analysis by NWFSC staff. Specific format requirements shall be determined at a later date in consultation between the vendor and NWFSC. The contractor shall provide all necessary labor, personnel, materials, equipment, etc., to accomplish the aforementioned requirements. This procurement is open to all interested parties. All responsible sources may submit an offer which will be considered by the Agency. For this procurement, the applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541710, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences. Any resulting contract will be awarded as a firm-fixed price contract. The period of performance is for one (1) base year with two (2) additional one-year option period(s). Solicitation documents will be made available for download on or about June 14, 2007 at http://www.fedbizopps.gov/. Paper copies of this solicitation will not be issued. For a copy of the solicitation, please utilize the FedBizOpps feature [register to receive notification] as well as [register as an interested vendor] to receive e-mail notification upon release of the solicitation. 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.fedbizopps.gov/. Questions regarding this solicitation may be directed to Loren Frei, Contract Specialist, at Loren.Frei@NOAA.gov or via telephone at (206)526-6370. All vendors doing business with the Government are now required to be registered with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). NO award can be made unless the vendor is registered in CCR. For additional information and to register in CCR, please access the following web site: http:///www.ccr.gov/. In order to register with the CCR and to be eligible to receive an award from this acquisition office, 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://www.dnb.com/product/eupdate/requestOptions.html or by phone at (800)333-0505. Additionally, this procurement also requires offerors to complete the On-Line Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) at https://orca.bpn.gov/.