SOUTHEAST FISHERIES OBSERVER PROGRAM (SEFOP) OBSERVER SERVICES EXTENSION

NOTICE OF INTENT TO NEGOTIATE FOR AN ACTION EXCEEDING THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD USING SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS SOUTHEAST FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER (SEFSC) SOUTHEAST FISHERIES OBSERVER PROGRAM (SEFOP) OBSERVER SERVICES National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries hereby gives public notice of the intent to negotiate a sole-source action for Task Order 1305M325F0020 under Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contract 1305M219DNFFN0019, to extend observer services from December 21, 2025 through March 31, 2026, pursuant to the authority of Federal Acquisition Requirements (FAR) 13.501(a) and 41 U.S.C. 1901. FAR 6.302-1(a)(2) and 41 USC 3304(a)(1) establishes authority for the government to seek services from A.I.S., Incorporated (AIS) to manage the recruitment, selection, supervision, and outfitting of all sea-going personnel needed to fulfill federal fisheries obligations of the SEFSC for the geographic area encompassed by the coastal states from North Carolina through Texas, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the U.S. Caribbean. These federal fisheries obligations are part of the National Observer Program and are authorized by statute under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The SEFOP operates in Federal reef-fish, shrimp, and pelagic longline fisheries in the Gulf of America, Caribbean and Western North Atlantic Ocean. More than 500 observers are deployed across 11 U.S. observer programs, the majority of which are managed by NOAA Fisheries� six regional Fisheries Science Centers. Observers act as the sole, independent data source for specific types of information, including bycatch composition and mortality, economic and regulatory discards, as well as gear interactions with marine mammals, seabirds, sea turtles, and many other protected resources. The observer collected data is utilized in various regional stock assessments. SEFSC Observer Services require