Sole Source Justification - Cooperative Marine Turtle Tagging Program

1. Agency and contracting activity. Department of Commerce, NOAA Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Western Acquisition Division and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Office of Protected Resources (OPR) Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation Division. 2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved. This is a sole source justification for a follow-on to an existing contract (1305M321PNFFK0519). This procurement was awarded as on a Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) basis. The Government made contract award to: University of Florida - Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research (UF-ACCSTR) 1523 Union Road, Room 207 Gainesville, FL 32611. 3. Description of supplies or services required to meet the agency's needs (including the total estimated value). NMFS OPR requires the UF-ACCSTR to maintain and manage the Cooperative Marine Turtle Tagging Program (CMTTP) to distribute and track sea turtle tags. The UF-ACCSTR will centralize the tag release and recovery records for all sea turtle tagging activities throughout the western North Atlantic. Additionally, the contractor will be required to facilitate the distribution of tags and the exchange of tagging information among sea turtle researchers. The UF-ACCSTR maintains a webpage for the CMTTP and provides access to databases, thereby improving the ability of managers to recover sea turtle populations.The period of performance is 30 September 2022 through 29 September 2027, including four 12-month option periods. The total estimated value including the base and all options is $337,375.00. 4. Statutory authority permitting the sole source (including brand name) acquisition 41 U.S.C. 1901, using SAP up to $7.5M as authorized by FAR 13.500(a) and implemented by FAR 13.501(a). 5. Demonstration that the proposed contractor's unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited. The contracting officer has determined the following circumstances justify the use of a sole source as supported below: Only one source - Only one source is capable of providing the services required at the level of quality required because the services are unique and highly specialized. Until April 1999 there were two sea turtle tag distribution and archival centers for the Western North Atlantic: NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) and UF-ACCSTR. The UF-ACCSTR has distributed tags to many collaborators in all areas of the world since 1955, having distributed over 200,000 tags. They have established an internationally known database system and communication network. Individuals of that network communicate throughout the world with local fishermen and other citizens and help to arrange for the return of tags from captured turtles. NMFS had maintained its CMTTP since 1980 and had distributed over 100,000 tags. In April 1999, NMFS consolidated its database with that of the UF-ACCSTR, transferring funds to support the purchasing of tags and for managing the consolidated database. The purpose of this contract is to support the consolidated activities of the two groups. This serves to eliminate the duplication of necessary infrastructure, saving federal dollars, and minimizes the duplication of tag identification numbers among programs and confusion associated with returning recovered tags to two separate entities. No other vendor is or would be capable of providing the services at the level of quality the Government requires. The UF-ACCSTR is the only known entity that possesses the necessary infrastructure, databases, and tagging network to support the CMTTP and it would take another vendor several years to recreate a comparable system. The CMTTP distributes about 9,000 tags annually, manages a database with over 164,000 records, and integrates databases from approximately 70 cooperators in the CMTTP program. The CMTTP also maintains a PIT tag database with about 70,000 PIT tag identification numbers submitted by tagging programs throughout the Atlantic. Annually, the CMTTP documents 1,300 to 3,700 recaptures of tagged turtles, including distant recaptures, sightings of re-nesting turtles, and strandings. The CMTTP program is recognized as the only repository of sea turtle tagging information and is contacted immediately whenever a researcher encounters a turtle with a tag that was not applied by that researcher. No other organization would be able to provide these data and information to the sea turtle community. Without this contract, management and knowledge of these threatened and endangered sea turtles would be adversely affected. Confusion would be created as duplicate tag numbers could be used by different research projects and there would be no information available on where and when turtles had been seen previously. These data are extremely important to NMFS as they allow the Agency to understand how different regions and countries are connected for sea turtle species. Sea turtles are a migratory species and a single sea turtle many be encountered in multiple locations within the United States as well as in other countries. It is imperative that there is consistency and accuracy in documenting and archiving tagging records. UF-ACCSTR has a proven track record of reliability and has successfully managed sea turtle tagging data for over 50 years. Ensuring that sea turtle tags and tagging data are correctly maintained and disseminated will assist NMFS in meeting its federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) mandates to conserve and recover sea turtles. 6. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by FAR Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under FAR 5.202 applies. On July 23, 2021, a sources sought notice was posted to the System for Award Management (SAM) website with a response date of August 6, 2021. No responses were received and on August 23, 2021 the SAM.gov notice was updated with a notice of intent to sole source to the UF-ACCSTR. During this timeframe, the acquisition office also searched the GSA website using the keywords - turtle tag distribution and found no matches. The SBA's Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) was also utilized. The Contracting Officer searched under the relevant NAICS code using the keywords - sea turtle tag distribution and no results were returned. In accordance with FAR 10.002(b)(1), the CO has determined the previous market research conducted less than a year ago to be current, accurate, and relevant. Additionally, on June 8, 2022 a notice of intent was posted to the SAM.gov website stating the Government's intent to satisfy the requirement through a sole source award to UF-ACCSTR. The notice contained specific language that if an interested vendor believed themselves capable to respond to the CO with their interest and capabilities detailing their ability to meet all of the requirements of the Statement of Work (SOW). The notice closed on June 15, 2022 with no responses or inquiries received. Additionally, all previous sources sought efforts have never returned any interested and/or capable vendors dating back to at least 2011 based on research conducted in SAM and previous contract files. The sources sought posting in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 returned no results, as did the FY2014 and FY2011 postings. The postings were open for the following periods of time: FY21 - 14 calendar days, FY19 - 7 calendar days, FY14 - 12 calendar days, FY11 - 10 calendar days. Further, the Contracting Officer researched small business firms in SBA's DSBS tool. The CO filtered by the relevant NAICS code and searched using the keyword - turtle. The search returned 9 firms, all of which were emailed a copy of the SOW on July 15, 2022. The CO requested firms reply with their interest and capabilities to meet the requirements. Of the 9, 6 firms replied and indicated they did not have the resources or capabilities to perform this work, had no interest in doing this work, or did not have the infrastructure to compete with the well-known incumbent. 7. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable. The contracting officer determines that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based on historical prices paid under previous efforts and a comparison to the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE). 8. Description of the market research conducted (see Part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted. Market research was conducted via SAM, GSA, previous procurements, internet searches, and existing NOAA contract vehicles. Additionally, a sources sought notice was posted on 06/08/2022 and in August 2021. No additional vendors were identified and no responses have been received to any Government public announcement for this requirement dating back to at least 2011. 9. Any other facts supporting the use of a sole source: All supporting facts have been documented herein. 10. List of the sources that expressed a written interest in the acquisition. No additional sources have expressed an interest in this procurement. 11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required. If another potential source emerges, NOAA will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible. The Government will continue to conduct market research to gauge marketplace capabilities to meet the Government's future requirements. Any sources that meet all of the critical requirements will be considered.