---
title: "UK Archive for Marine Species and Habitats Data (DASSH)"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05a871"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05a871"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05a871.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05a871.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS"
published: "2025-12-17"
---

# UK Archive for Marine Species and Habitats Data (DASSH)

Buyer: DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05a871

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## Summary

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has completed a procurement process for the UK Archive for Marine Species and Habitats Data (DASSH), with a contract awarded to the Marine Biological Association. This direct award procurement falls under the category of marine-based support services and is part of MEDIN, playing a crucial role in statutory environmental reporting under various UK strategies and conventions. The agreement, covering services from marine and environmental industries, is active from 17 December 2025 to 31 March 2029, with a possible extension until March 2030, subject to budget approval. Located in London, DEFRA's tender was guided by intellectual property rights and technical reasons attributed to a single supplier methodology, ensuring the exclusivity of the services provided.

This procurement offers significant growth opportunities for businesses specialised in marine and environmental services, particularly those holding exclusive rights or technical expertise. Such contracts can be lucrative, given the substantial total value amounting to £834,768 GBP, fostering business expansion within the marine services sector. SMEs with suitable capabilities may take advantage of similar tender processes in the future. Marine services businesses aligning with the technical and intellectual needs of projects associated with statutory environmental obligations will be well-suited to compete for similar awards, highlighting the potential for continued collaboration and strategic partnerships with government entities such as DEFRA.

## Notice

DASSH is the UK's accredited Data Archive Centre ("DAC") for marine species and habitats data. It is part of the MEDIN and plays a critical role in supporting statutory environmental reporting obligations under the UK Marine Strategy, OSPAR, and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

### Procurement Information

Single supplier - intellectual property or exclusive rights; Single supplier - technical reasons

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083758-2025 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | Large, SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 17 Dec 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 2 Oct 2025 |
| Contract period | 17 Dec 2025 - 31 Mar 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £695,698 |
| Contracts value | £695,640 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active, Pending |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS |
| Additional buyers | DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 4DF |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 3 |
| Supplier names | MARINE BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION; THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION; THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 90 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services
- 98 - Other community, social and personal services

### Codes

- 90700000 - Environmental services
- 98362100 - Marine-base support services

## Release History

- 17 Dec 2025 at 11:48 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083758-2025
- 9 Oct 2025 at 08:24 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/063537-2025
- 6 Oct 2025 at 08:35 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/062379-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083758-2025
  17th December 2025 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/063537-2025
  9th October 2025 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/062379-2025
  6th October 2025 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://ww.mba.ac.uk/
- https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05a871. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05a871.json.
