---
title: "ES RDE 143 - A Review of Autonomous Monitoring Methods in Highly Protected Mari"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-07809b"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-07809b"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07809b.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07809b.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS"
published: "2026-10-05"
---

# ES RDE 143 - A Review of Autonomous Monitoring Methods in Highly Protected Mari

Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-07809b

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-07809b)  
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## Summary

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs commissioned research and consultancy to review autonomous monitoring methods for use within and around newly designated Highly Protected Marine Areas in English waters. The project is intended to identify where these monitoring approaches are most suitable. The work concerns offshore marine protected areas in England and sits within marine environmental research and development.

The procurement is complete and the contract has been awarded to PML Applications Ltd. Defra used a selective, non-competitive direct award under a framework. The contract was signed on 24 September 2026 and runs from 28 September to 18 December 2026. Its value is £24,800 excluding VAT (£29,760 including VAT). The award is active, and the contract is active. The procurement was evaluated through the framework award route; no separate evaluation criteria are recorded.

This award shows demand for focused marine science research that can assess practical applications of autonomous monitoring in offshore protected areas. Suppliers seeking to compete for comparable work for Defra would need credible expertise in marine monitoring technologies and the ability to evaluate which methods suit particular conservation settings. Experience with highly protected marine areas, offshore environments and English marine policy would be relevant to understanding the operating context. The selected supplier is a marine laboratory business, indicating that specialist scientific research capability is central to this requirement. The work is a defined, short-term study rather than a large-scale equipment or deployment contract, so a credible competitor would need to deliver a targeted review and evidence-based recommendations.

## Notice

JNCC self-service direct award. The primary aim of this project is to identify the most appropriate applications of autonomous monitoring methods within and around the newly designated offshore Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) in English waters.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093743-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - award under framework |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 5 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 28 Sep 2026 - 18 Dec 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £24,800 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Postcode area | 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 | 1 |
| Supplier names | PML Applications Limited |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

## Release History

- 5 Oct 2026 at 11:59 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093743-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093743-2026
  5th October 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/api/1.0/ocdsReleasePackages/ocds-h6vhtk-04ef64
- 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-07809b. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07809b.json.