JAX Harbor Nekton Monitoring

USACE Jacksonville District is issuing this sources sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support this requirement for necessary Nekton monitoring within selected zones of the lower St. Johns River (LSJR) as well as selected tributaries in northeast Florida. The proposed project will be a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA). The Period of Performance (PoP) shall be for five (5) years. The Jacksonville District anticipates the issuance of a Solicitation in January 2021. The result of this market research will contribute to determining the method of procurement. This is NOT a solicitation. This request for capability information does not constitute a request for proposals; submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary; the government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred. The purpose of this synopsis is to gain knowledge of interest, capabilities and qualifications of various members of industry, namely the Small Business Community, Small Business (Section 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Women-Owned (WOSB) and Historically Underutilized (HUBZone) concerns). The Government must ensure there is adequate competition among the potential pool of responsible contractors. Description of Services: The scope of work is as described. The contractor shall provide services for monitoring nekton within selected zones of LSJR and tributaries. As previously stated, the first objective of this PWS is to develop nekton abundance and species composition data within select LSJR tidal tributaries that will be used to assess potential changes from channel deepening operations. The second objective of this PWS is to continue the collection of nekton abundance and species composition data within the LSJR between Julington Creek and Palatka (river kilometer 64 to 134) Monthly nekton collections will follow established sampling protocols for an 18-year period in the select geographic strata. It is imperative to establish baseline community metrics for the selected study area prior to channel deepening operations. The pre-operation sampling should, ideally, cover several years to capture natural variability that is inherent in any ecological system. Sampling through the dredging operations will allow for assessment of any direct impacts of the dredging operations itself. An extended period of sampling post dredging will be important for assessing recovery from any direct impacts from the dredging and allow for the nekton assemblages to stabilize before assessing final impacts that are directly related to the actual deepening. Nekton samples will be collected with three sampling gears in the LSJR: 1) 21.3-m seines which target small bodied nekton in shallow waters (?1.6-m) that are associated with shorelines; 2) 6.1-m otter trawls which target small and large bodied nekton in waters from 1.8 to 7.6-m; and 3) 183-m seines which target larger bodied juvenile and adult fishes in waters associated with shorelines. The nekton life history stages that are collected with 21.3-m seines and 6.1-m trawls are the most likely to be impacted directly by dredging operations and channel deepening and, therefore, these are the two gears proposed for inclusion in this study. The proposed sampling will occur in three tidal tributary systems in the LSJR as well as the Mill Cove area. Sampling effort will consist of 36 samples each month with the sampling effort being proportionally distributed between each of the four geographic strata and two gear types based upon available habitat. Sample sites within the tidal tributaries will be randomly selected using a stratified-random sampling design. Each selected tributary will be a stratum (zone), with additional strata (subzones) along the length of the tributary as needed. Locations where either sampling gear type can be set will be used to create a domain of potential sampling sites. Sites to be sampled each month will be randomly selected from this domain without replacement. If the designated gear type cannot be set at a selected site during a given month, then the site will be spiraled, following a pre-determined direction, to the nearest available habitat where the gear can be set. Monthly nekton collections in the Expansion Zones will follow established sampling protocols that have been in place for this segment of the LSJR since 2005. The sampling will be continued for an 18-year period in the two geographic strata upstream of Julington Creek (Zones E and F; Figure 1). Sampling through the dredging operations will allow for assessment of any direct impacts of the dredging operations itself. An extended period of sampling post dredging will be important for assessing recovery from any direct impacts from the dredging and allow for the nekton assemblages to stabilize before assessing final impacts that are directly related to the actual deepening. Nekton samples have been collected with two sampling gears in the LSJR Expansion Zones: 1) 21.3-m seines which target small bodied nekton in shallow waters (?1.6-m) that are associated with shorelines, and 2) 6.1-m otter trawls which target small and large bodied nekton in waters from 1.8 to 7.6-m. To maintain continuity of the collected data and allow for data analysis to examine potential changes in nekton abundance and species composition attributed to channel dredging, the same gears are proposed for inclusion in this portion of the study. Sampling effort will consist of 32 samples collected each month. Sample sites within each zone will be randomly selected using a stratified-random sampling design. Each zone will have two additional geographic strata (subzones). Locations where either sampling gear type can be set were used to create a domain of potential sampling sites. Sites to be sampled each month will be randomly selected from this domain without replacement. If the designated gear type cannot be set at a selected site during a given month, then the site will be spiraled, following a pre-determined direction, to the nearest available habitat where the gear can be set. DATA COLLECTION AND SAMPLE PROCESSING Water quality profiles will be taken in association with each gear deployment. Temperature, conductivity, pH and dissolved oxygen will be measured electronically at surface and bottom and at one-meter intervals between surface and bottom. Surface measurement will be taken such that the Hydrolab/YSI probes are 150 mm from the surface. If the water depth is less than 1 meter, both surface and bottom readings will still be recorded. The seine and trawl sampling will follow existing protocols. All field data will be recorded using a field data sheet following standard procedures. Seining will be conducted using boat-set seine procedures along riverbanks. The 21.3-m center bag seine will be used to collect juvenile and small adult fishes and macroinvertebrates along shorelines where water depth is less than 1.8 m. The seine used will be a 21.3-m center-bag seine, 1.8-m deep with 3.2-mm #35 knotless nylon Delta mesh. The 6.1-m otter trawl is used to sample areas of the estuarine system that are between 1.8 m and 7.6 m in depth. The trawl will be towed for five minutes into the current. The 6.1-m otter trawl has 38-mm stretch mesh and a 3-mm mesh liner. All fishery samples collected will be processed according to the same standardized set of protocols. These protocols ensure that an accurate size representation and number collected are recorded for each taxa in each sample and that the data taken accurately reflect the entire catch. All species of fish and selected macroinvertebrates (penaeid shrimps, Callinectes spp., Menippe spp., Portunus spp., Limulus polyphemus, and Stomolophus meleagris) are worked up for each sample. The sample is culled thoroughly for all fishes and selected macroinvertebrates. Specimens are separated into groups based upon the lowest practical taxonomic level. Due to frequent hybridization and difficulty in the identification of smaller individuals, the members of several species complexes will not be identified to species. These species complexes included menhaden species of the genus Brevoortia (Brevoortia patronus, Brevoortia smithi, and hybrids), silverside species of the genus Menidia (Menidia peninsulae, Menidia beryllina, and hybrids), drum species of the genus Cynoscion (Cynoscion regalis, Cynoscion arenarius, and hybrids) and small individuals of the mojarra genus Eucinostomus (<40 mm standard length), the goby genus Gobiosoma (<20 mm standard length), and the sunfish genus Lepomis (<20 mm standard length). After identification to the lowest taxonomic level, a subset of randomly selected individuals from each taxa are measured and all individuals are counted according to the standard guidelines. Special care is taken to remove vegetation and other bycatch that may interfere with the work-up of the sample. The 21.3-m seine and 6.1-m otter trawl samples that contain large numbers of specimens (>1000) may be split according to established procedures (sub-sampling). If a species occurs as multiple size classes, the minimum number of specimens is measured and recorded for each size class. If a wide size range exists but there are no obvious size classes, more than the minimum number of specimens are measured. If a sample was sub-sampled and the same species is present in both the split and unsplit portions, then the minimum number of specimens is measured from both the split and unsplit portions. After recording the minimum number of lengths, the number of remaining individuals for each species is determined and recorded. If different size classes were measured, then the number collected within each size class is counted separately. Representative and unidentified samples will be brought back to the lab and worked up following standard protocols. Firm's response to this Synopsis shall be limited to 12 pages and shall include the following information: 1. Firm's name, address, point of contact, phone number, website, and email address. 2. Firm's interest in bidding on the solicitation when it is issued. 3. Firm's capability to perform a contract of this magnitude and complexity (include firm's capability to execute comparable work performed within the past 5 years: - Brief description of the project, customer name, timeliness of performance, customer satisfaction, and dollar value of the project) - provide at least 3 examples. 4. Firm's Business category and Business Size - Other than Small, Small Business, 8(a), SDVOSB, WOSB, or HUBzone. If your firm is a Small Business, be sure you understand the performance of work requirements for your specific socioeconomic category. i.e. SB, 8(a), SDVOSB, WOSB, or HUBZone. 5. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, firms should address the structure of such arrangements to include Joint Venture information if applicable - existing and potential. All responses to this sources sought notice/market research will be evaluated and used in determining acquisition strategy. If you have any questions concerning this opportunity, please contact: James Vinson at james.t.vinson@usace.army.mil or Gerald Garvey at gerald.l.garvey@usace.army.mil NOTES: DO NOT SUMBIT A RESPONSE TO THIS SYNOPSIS IF YOU DO NOT INTEND TO BID ON THIS PROJECT. DO NOT SUBMIT PROPRIETARY AND/OR BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL DATA. Submission Instructions: Interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform the above-listed project are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notice by no later than 29 December 2020 at 2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST). Prior Government contract work is not required for submitting a response under this sources sought synopsis. You must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) in order to receive a Government contract award. To register go to SAM.GOV.