---
title: "CEFAS25-84 Contract for the Supply of an imaging particle analyser"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05adda"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05adda"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05adda.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05adda.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SCIENCE"
published: "2025-10-13"
---

# CEFAS25-84 Contract for the Supply of an imaging particle analyser

Buyer: CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SCIENCE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05adda

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## Summary

The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) has awarded a contract titled "CEFAS25-84 Contract for the Supply of an Imaging Particle Analyser" located in Lowestoft, United Kingdom. This procurement falls under the industry category of laboratory, optical, and precision equipment, excluding glasses. The contracting process was initiated through a direct procurement method, categorised as below threshold without competition. The contract was signed on 9th October 2025 and is active, with the period running from 13th October 2025 to 26th February 2027. The procurement has been completed with the supplier Planet Ocean Limited.

This tender offers significant opportunities for businesses that specialise in precision equipment manufacturing, especially those developing imaging and analysis technologies. Firms providing advanced imaging systems compatible with environmental research would be particularly well-suited to compete. The procurement method, being direct and without competition, emphasises the necessity for suppliers who demonstrate niche capabilities in producing portable and efficient laboratory equipment aligned with environmental considerations, such as low power consumption and ethical packaging disposal practices. Businesses capable of meeting these requirements can gain substantial growth through engagement with public authorities like CEFAS.

## Notice

The Supplier will provide an imaging particle analyser instrument to cover gaps in microzooplankton monitoring capabilities in existing programmes. Currently, 80mm mesh ringnets are used in the annual PELTIC (PELagic ecosystems in the Western English Channel and eastern CelTIC Seas) fisheries surveys but the existing imaging methods (Zooscan) are limited to a lower detection limit of 300mm- sized objects. This potentially means organisms in the 80-300mm size range are being missed out entirely. Cefas therefore require a new instrument that must be capable of using objective lenses to detect objects in the size range of 2mm-1mm. Additionally, the instrument must have the ability to be used on board our research vessel to process samples collected at sea, thereby saving time and resources spent analysing the samples post-survey. Scope of Requirements: 1. Technical Requirement 1.1 Must be equipped with objective lens capable of object detection between at least 80mm- 1mm size. 1.2 Must be capable of flow-through automatic image capture with either colour or monochrome images. 1.3 Additional extras to include transportation kit for packing instrument for surveys, including dust cover. 1.4 Must include appropriate image processing software licensing to be able to install software across multiple PCs. 1.5 Must be portable, to allow use both in the lab and to be taken on board our research vessel. 2. Environmental Considerations 2.1 Unit should have an ultra-low power consumption. 2.2 Consideration of how packaging will be managed. Ideally at the time of installation the supplier will remove packaging and dispose of by ethical and environmentally friendly methods. Where possible packaging is to be re-used or recycled. 2.3 Consideration of life cycle assessment for the equipment. 3 Hardware, Software, PC, Licenses, operating systems 3.1 VisualSpreadsheet software (available for installation on other PCs/work laptops), ability to connect to PC/work laptop with Zooprocess and ImageJ software installed. Compatibility with Windows 11 software would be ideal due to recent site upgrades of IT equipment. 4 Installation 4.1 Compatible with UK plug socket. 5 Ease of maintenance 5.1 Easy to clean and flush between sample runs, low-cost cleaning chemicals required without regular need of expensive consumables/parts. 6 Parts, Consumables and Updates 6.1 To provide a fully usable item for all purposes, alongside the core unit,Cefas require provision of: 6.1.1 Objective lens with magnification according to specifications in 1.1 6.1.2 Flowcell 6.1.3 Dust cover The Short Form Contract - version 1.5 42 of 48 Cefas version 1 April 2025 6.1.4 Transportation kit for survey packing. 7 Warranties, Guarantees, Servicing 7.1 Warranties will start from the point of acceptance of delivery and once the goods have been tested to ensure they are in working order. Cefas expect minimum warranty period of 12 months to be included in the purchase.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064574-2025 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - without competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 13 Oct 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 8 Oct 2025 |
| Contract period | 12 Oct 2025 - 26 Feb 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £94,994 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SCIENCE |
| Locality | LOWESTOFT |
| Post town | Norwich |
| Postcode | NR33 0HT |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH6 Suffolk |
| ITL 3 | TLH63 East Suffolk |
| Local authority | East Suffolk |
| Electoral ward | Kirkley & Pakefield |
| Westminster constituency | Lowestoft |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | PLANET OCEAN |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

### Codes

- 38000000 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

## Release History

- 13 Oct 2025 at 08:42 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064574-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064574-2025
  13th October 2025 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- 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-05adda. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05adda.json.