Notice of intent to negotiate a sole-source contract - Benthic Invertebrate species identification; NMFS - AFSC

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is seeking to negotiate a sole-source contract for the expert taxonomic identification of Benthic invertebrate specimens collected during fisheries research in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. The contract will be awarded to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography/University of San Diego due to their unique expertise and resources in this area. The contractor will be responsible for identifying and describing invertebrate species from North Pacific waters collected on bottom trawl surveys in Alaskan waters. • The contractor must have expert familiarity with the invertebrate species of this region. • The contractor must be able to accession, curate, or make collected specimens available to researchers around the world. • The contractor must have the resources to perform DNA and genomic analyses. • The contractor must have a demonstrated institutional capacity to curate, organize, and rescue large scientific collections from other marine research programs.