19--West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Survey

The contract award establishes a charter vessel agreement for the Second Pass of the 2026–2030 annual West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Survey, conducted by NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center from mid-August through the third week of October each year, with the base performance period spanning May 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027, and up to four optional one-year extensions through April 30, 2031. The vessel must support 47 designated fishing days and 8 mobilization/de-mobilization days, providing full operational capabilities including 110/120V power, a private shower and toilet, a dedicated 4’x3’ workspace, and a secure 3’x4’x6’ freezer for scientific samples. The vessel must comply with U.S. Coast Guard requirements for operations beyond 200 nautical miles, be equipped with advanced scientific navigation systems such as Simrad ES60/EK60 or ES80/EK80 transceivers, dual radars, AIS, GPS, satellite compass, and Category 1 EPIRB, and meet MARPOL and CFR safety and environmental standards. The contractor must provide experienced key personnel including a captain, engineer-fisherman, cook-fisherman, and nightwatch, all of whom must hold current safety and firefighting certifications, with substitutions requiring 15 days’ advance written approval from the Contracting Officer. The vessel must adhere to strict conduct policies, including a prohibition on alcohol and drugs aboard during operations, compliance with 46 CFR Part 16 drug and alcohol testing, smoke-free zones for scientific personnel, and full insurance coverage under Protection and Indemnity terms extending to government personnel. Evaluation of offerors prioritizes technical capability—focusing on vessel specifications and prior commercial fishing experience—followed by past performance assessed on quality, timeliness, communication, and cost management, with price considered for reasonableness and overall value, not as a scored criterion, on a trade-off basis. Submission of proposals requires separate technical and business/price volumes, both submitted electronically by April 3, 2026, with the technical portion capped at 60 pages and picture attachments limited to 20 pages. The Contracting Officer, Carina Topasna, will manage the award and administration with support from Contract Specialist Novelle Key, and payment must be processed through the Invoice Processing Platform