Charter Vessel to Conduct a Longline Survey in the Eastern Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands Region, and Gulf of Alaska

This is a Sources Sought notice for a Charter Vessel to conduct a Longline Survey in the Eastern Bering Sea, the Aleutian Islands Region, and the Gulf of Alaska. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A SOLICITATION AND IS BEING USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF MARKET RESEARCH ONLY. Solicitations are not available at this time. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the United States Government. Respondents will not be entitled to payment of direct or indirect costs incurred in responding to this notice. In accordance with Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul (RFO) 15.101(c), responses to this notice are not quotations and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The attached draft Statement of Work (SOW) is for reference only; the final SOW may change. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Western Acquisition Division (WAD), located in Seattle, WA, is conducting market research to assess the current and near-future marketplace and potential vendors capable of performing a Longline Survey for sablefish and other groundfish in the Eastern Bering Sea, the Aleutian Islands region, and the Gulf of Alaska for the NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC). Information provided in response to this notice will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available to determine how to proceed in the acquisition process. This notice requests interested parties to describe their technical capabilities and demonstrated facilities, processes, and service capabilities. All interested contractors are requested to provide written responses to the questions below. Responding to this notice is necessary to assist NOAA Fisheries in determining the potential levels of interest, adequacy of competition, market maturity, and technical capabilities within the business community to provide the required capabilities. The Government