NF-FKP200-21-02524RDS

***NOAA’s Acquisition & Grants Office, Western Acquisition Division-Boulder, intends to negotiate, on a sole source basis, under authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), with the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida for assisting the National  Marine Fisheries in maintaining and managing the Cooperative Marine Turtle Tagging Program (CMTTP) to distribute and track sea turtle tags across the western North Atlantic.

***The sole source determination is based on the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) requirement for maintaining and managing the Cooperative Marine Turtle Tagging Program (CMTTP) to distribute and track sea turtle tags across the western North Atlantic.  The University of Florida is uniquely qualified for this project.  No other organization has the infrastructure and contacts, both nationally and internationally, to perform this work. The University of Florida has established an internationally known database system and communication network. Individuals of that network communicate throughout the world with researchers, local fishermen and other citizens and help to arrange for the return of tags from captured turtles. The UF-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 negatively 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 may 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. The University of Florida 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 ESA mandates to conserve and recover sea turtles.  The period of performance is one year from the date of award.

***This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals and no solicitation package is available.  However, firms that believe they can fully meet the Government’s requirements may submit substantiating documentation in writing to the identified point of contact within 15 days after publication of this synopsis. Such documentation will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to conduct a competitive procurement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice.