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CEFAS26-87 ITT for eDNA analysis of samples from Beyond the Reef survey

CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SCIENCE

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

12 Aug 2026 at 09:39

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

17 Jun 2026 at 10:43

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) procured environmental DNA analysis services for its Beyond the Reef marine research survey. The work covers 417 Sterivex filters from water sampling: 348 samples and 69 field negatives collected around Anguilla, the Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. The purpose is to identify the composition and distribution of teleost fishes and elasmobranchs in these Caribbean UK Overseas Territories as part of the UK Government’s Blue Belt marine conservation programme. The supplier was required to extract DNA, amplify an approximately 170-base-pair 12S rRNA fragment using MiFish-U and MiFish-E primer sets, index pooled PCR products, sequence the libraries on a suitable high-throughput platform, and provide demultiplexed paired-end raw sequence data. Laboratory delivery is associated with the United Kingdom.

This procurement is complete and has been awarded following an open procedure. Cefas awarded the work to Applied Genomics Ltd on 12 August 2026. The awarded value is £153,150 excluding VAT (£183,510 including VAT). The contract period runs from 31 August 2026 to 31 March 2027. The tender submission deadline was 17 July 2026 at 12:00, enquiries closed on 8 July 2026 at 12:00, and the award decision period ended on 5 August 2026. One contract was evaluated using technical quality at 70%, social value at 10% and cost at 20%. Economic and technical selection requirements were set out in the Bidder Pack. Eleven bids were received, including seven from SMEs. A contract signature milestone was scheduled for 28 August 2026.

This award indicates demand from Cefas for specialist metabarcoding and high-throughput sequencing of environmental marine samples, with a strong emphasis on transparent, reproducible laboratory procedures and delivery of raw sequence data suitable for publication. Suppliers well placed for comparable work would have proven capability in DNA extraction from Sterivex PES filters, environmental sample handling, PCR amplification of fish and elasmobranch 12S rRNA targets using MiFish-U and MiFish-E primers, indexing and library preparation, and paired-end sequencing at suitable depth. Credible bidders would also need robust quality assurance for contamination control, field negatives and failed extractions, PCR or sequencing runs, together with the capacity to repeat work where necessary. This requirement was explicitly suitable for SMEs, showing that a specialist laboratory can compete without being a large organisation.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

CEFAS26-87 ITT for eDNA analysis of samples from Beyond the Reef survey

Notice Description

The Blue Belt Programme is the UK Government's flagship marine conservation programme, working with a number of the UK Overseas Territories to safeguard more than four million square kilometres of the World's oceans. Earlier this year, the Blue Belt Programme conducted its first offshore research expedition 'Beyond the Reef' to the Caribbean UK Overseas Territories of Anguilla, Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. As a component of the 'Beyond the Reef' survey, Cefas undertook water sampling, yielding 417 filters (348 samples, 69 field negatives). Our overall aim is to identify the composition and distribution of teleost fishes and elasmobranchs around Anguilla, and the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean. We require a Supplier to process these samples using a metabarcoding workflow and provide us with the raw sequence data. As we are aiming to publish this research, we require a high level of transparency on, and input into, the laboratory procedures used. Full specification details can be found in the Bidder Pack. Services required include: - Extract DNA from the Sterivex (0.22 um; PES) filters (348 total; triplicated per sampling station/depth; 4 L filtered total) and field negatives (69; one per station) provided by Cefas. - PCR amplify a ~170 bp fragment of the 12S rRNA region, with two primer sets: one targeting teleost fishes (MiFish-U) and another targeting elasmobranchs (MiFish-E). - Pooled PCR products will then be indexed. - Sequence the library(s) on a suitable High Throughput Sequencing Platform, e.g. NextSeq 1000 P1 XLEAP-SBS, to an appropriate level of sequence depth. - Provide Cefas with demultiplexed paired-end read sequence data. Contract is expected to start 1 September 2026 with delivery completed by 1 December 2026. Some flexibility can be provided where essential, up to 1 March 2027.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06b6b0
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/076522-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

CPV Codes

71620000 - Analysis services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£180,000 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
£180,000 £100K-£500K
Awards Value
£153,150 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
12 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
17 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
12 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Contract Period
31 Aug 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SCIENCE
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LOWESTOFT
Postcode
NR33 0HT
Postcode Area
Norwich
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH6 Suffolk
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH63 East Suffolk
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
East Suffolk
Electoral Ward
Kirkley & Pakefield
Westminster Constituency
Lowestoft

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Applied Genomics Ltd

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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