Delivery order DOCT0005SPREE EXPEDITIONS, INC.

Description of requirement

IGF::OT::IGF "OTHER FUNCTIONS" THE GOVERNMENT REQUIRES THE PROCUREMENT OF VESSEL SERVICES TO SUPPORT MULTIPLE SOUTHEAST FISHERIS SCIENCE CENTER (SEFSC) OFFICES RESEARCH CRUISES THROUGHOUT THE WATERS OF THE SOUTHEAST ATLANTIC OCEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS, OR CARIBBEAN. SERVICES MAY BE RENDERED BY MULTIPLE NOAA SEFSC AS WELL AS THE FLORIDA KEYS NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARIES CENTER. THE RESEARCH CRUISES WILL OFTEN INVOLVE INTENSIVE SCUBA OPERATIONS AND WILL BE FOR THE PURPOSE OF GATHERING FISHERY INDEPENDENT SURVEY DATA ON REEF FISHES AND/OR BENTHIC HABITATS. THIS CONTRACT ESTABLISHES AN INDEFINITE DELIVERY INDEFINITE QUANTITY (IDIQ) CONTRACT VEHICLE TO PROCURE THESE DIVING CRUISES. DUE TO OVERFISHING OF A VARIETY OF REEF FISH STOCKS (AND IN PARTICULAR THE SNAPPER-GROUPER COMPLEX) ALONG THE FLORIDA REEF TRACT, GULF OF MEXICO, AND THROUGHOUT THE SOUTHEASTERN U.S. AND U.S. CARIBBEAN, RESEARCH TO ASSESS THE STATUS OF REEF FISH STOCKS AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MANAGEMENT MEASURES (E.G. SIZE LIMITS, NETWORKS OF NO-TAKE MARINE RESERVES, ETC.) THROUGHOUT THE REGION, INCLUDING REEFS IN FLORIDA, THE GULF OF MEXICO, AND THE SOUTHEASTERN U.S. AND U.S. CARIBBEAN IS A HIGH-PRIORITY ITEM FOR THE NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, THE NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY PROGRAM, THE U.S. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, AND THE STATES AND U.S. TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENTS IN THE REGION. THE NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE HAS BEEN CONDUCTING RESEARCH AND FISHERY-INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENTS OF REEF FISHES AND CORAL REEF HABITATS IN THE DRY TORTUGAS AND THE FLORIDA KEYS FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, AND NMFS HAS BEEN PARTNERING WITH OTHER NOAA, OTHER FEDERAL, AND STATE AND TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT OFFICES THROUGHOUT FLORIDA, THE GULF OF MEXICO, AND U.S. CARIBBEAN FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS AS WELL. THE PLANNED 2013-2018 RESEARCH CRUISES, INCLUDING EXPANSION OF NMFS WORK INTO THE OTHER AREAS UNDER THE PURVIEW OF THE SOUTHEAST FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER (NMFS, NOAA), INCLUDING THE U.S. SOUTHEASTERN ATLANTIC (NORTH CAROLINA THROUGH FLORIDA), THE U.S GULF OF MEXICO (FLORIDA THROUGH TEXAS), AND THE U.S. CARIBBEAN (U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS, PUERTO RICO, AND NAVASSA ISLAND) THAT ARE CRITICAL FOR THE CONTINUATION OF CURRENT RESEARCH ON THE STATUS OF THESE COMPLEX FISHERY AND THEIR HABITAT, AND THE EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CURRENT, AND POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE, MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES. NUMEROUS RESEARCH CRUISES PER YEAR WILL BE CONDUCTED IN THE WATERS OF THE SOUTHEAST ATLANTIC OCEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS, AND/OR U.S. CARIBBEAN REGIONS. CRUISE OPERATIONS WILL SUPPORT SCUBA BASED-FISHERY INDEPENDENT SURVEYS OF REEF FISH, MACROINVERTEBRATES, OTHER BENTHIC FAUNA, AND HABITAT CHARACTERISTICS. THIS RESEARCH WILL FACILITATE THE (1) ASSESSMENT OF THE STATUS OF REEF FISH STOCKS; (2) ASSESSMENT OF NATURAL SYSTEM VARIABILITY VERSUS CHANGE RESULTING FROM IMPLEMENTATION OF MANAGEMENT ACTIONS (E.G. SPATIAL MANAGEMENT ZONES RECENTLY IMPLEMENTED IN THE DRY TORTUGAS, FLORIDA KEYS, AND U.S. CARIBBEAN); (3) CREATE BASELINES FROM WHICH TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF RECENTLY CREATED OR PROPOSED SPATIAL MANAGEMENT ZONES THROUGHOUT THE SOUTHEAST ATLANTIC OCEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS, AND U.S. CARIBBEAN; (4) ASSESSMENT OF CORRELATIONS BETWEEN SPATIALLY-EXPLICIT MULTISPECIES ABUNDANCE AND BIOMASS DATA WITH RELEVANT BIOPHYSICAL HABITAT STRUCTURE; (5) MODELING OF LINKAGES BETWEEN CORAL REEF FISHERY RESOURCES AND KEY ENVIRONMENTAL HABITAT FEATURES; AND (6) MONITORING OF REEF FISH AND BENTHIC HABITAT COMMUNITIES. ULTIMATELY, THIS WORK WILL HELP US TO EVALUATE MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVENESS AND PROVIDE SCIENCE-BASED GUIDANCE TO ENSURE LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF THESE FISHERY RESOURCES. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE THE APPROPRIATE VESSEL, PERSONNEL, EQUIPMENT, TOOLS, MATERIALS, SUPERVISION, TRAINING, AND ANY OTHER NECESSARY ITEMS TO PERFORM THE REQUIRED VESSEL TRANSPORTATION SUPPORT SERVICES.