The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) is issuing notice of intent to negotiate a sole source procurement with Dr. Douglas Nowacek of Mote Marine Laboratory to assess risk factors involved in collisions between ships and North Atlantic right whales. The agency is mandated to conserve the endangered species under its jurisdiction, and must undertake actions to prevent further decline of populations, facilitate their recovery, and safeguard the quality of their habitat. The North Atlantic right whale is among the most critically endangered of any whale population in the world, with approximately 300 animals remaining. The proposed contract is intended to provide support for the analyses of detailed and extensive data, most of which have already been collected, which have the potential to provide unique insights into the behavior of North Atlantic right whales in the presence of vessels and therefore, in designing conservation management strategies related to ship strike mitigation. The main objectives of the project are as follows: to complete field studies begun under a previous NOAA contract; to analyze whales' reactions to all experimental and opportunistic vessel approaches as well as to all controlled sound exposures; to prepare new data for publication in peer reviewed journals; and to participate in meetings/working groups where the data will be useful, notably in formulating policy with regard to right whales and ship strikes. Dr. Douglas Nowacek is uniquely qualified to conduct this project due to his experience in marine mammal bioacoustics and behavior combined with his knowledge of the multi-sensor digital acoustic tag, its application, and data products. The statutory authority for other than full and open competition is 41 USC 253 (c) (1), Only One Responsible Source. Interested parties may identify their interest and must provide evidence of their capability to respond to the requirement by August 9, 2002. Written requests may be faxed to (757) 441-3786. Telephone requests will not be accepted. The solicitation document will be issued on or about August 9, 2002. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. A determination by the Government not to compete with this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Numbered Note 22 applies.

Bid Protests Not Available