Foundation For Marine Ecology And Telemetry Research

Foundation For Marine Ecology And Telemetry Research, doing business as Metr, is a non-profit marine ecology research organization based in Seabeck, Washington, that conducts marine mammal research, behavioral observations, tagging operations, and biopsy sample collection for federal maritime and defense agencies as a prime contractor on contracts and grants. The vendor operates exclusively in the open market with no set-aside designations across its federal footprint.

Metr's customer base is concentrated within the Department of the Navy. The top five funding entities account for 98% of recent awards, anchored by Naval Sea Systems Command (12 awards, $8.1 million combined potential value) and the Office of Naval Research (12 awards), with Naval Facilities Engineering Command (8 awards, $4.4 million), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (9 awards, $690 thousand), and the Naval Air Systems Command rounding out the active set. Metr holds two indefinite-delivery contracts with the Navy: a single-award Marine Mammal Monitoring IDIQ with Naval Sea Systems Command awarded June 4, 2026, carrying a ceiling of $4.25 million and running through June 3, 2031, and an earlier single-award Marine Mammal Survey Services IDIQ with Naval Sea Systems Command from February 2022 to February 2027, valued at $1.67 million. Six delivery orders totaling approximately $1.61 million have been issued under the older IDC since its inception, with individual order values ranging from $52,755 to $753,821.

Recent contract work includes a $358,899 delivery order from Naval Sea Systems Command for vessel surveys in the Southern California Antisubmarine Warfare Range (September 2025), a $643,978 definitive contract from Naval Facilities Engineering Command for the Continuously Active Sonar - Responses via Ecologically Based Documentation of Perturbation (CAS-REP) study (August 2025, running through December 2028), and a $320,084 definitive contract from Naval Facilities Engineering Command for behavioral observation of marine mammals around impulsive noise (BOOMIN) (March 2024, running through March 2027). On the grant side, Metr serves as prime recipient under the Office of Naval Research Basic and Applied Scientific Research program (CFDA 12.300) for a $208,469 project grant to study fin whale population structure and health in the Southern California Bight (October 2025, running through November 2029). Metr also holds a $796,400 cooperative agreement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Unallied Science Program (CFDA 11.472) to develop next-generation consolidated Argos satellite tags for cetacean monitoring (August 2024 through March 2027), which includes a sub-award from Wildlife Computers, Inc., a minority-owned woman-owned small business, for specialized satellite tag development. Additional Office of Naval Research project grants support research on Cuvier's beaked whale population consequences of disturbance, Cuvier's beaked whales at Guadalupe Island demographics, and aerial photogrammetry assessment of beaked whale body condition on Navy sonar ranges.

Award activity has grown from three awards in 2022 to seven in 2024 before declining to three in 2025 and five in 2026 year to date. Four awards (combined potential value $469 thousand) face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and will require recompete. Metr subcontracts minimally — the footprint shows two grant sub-awards to Oregon State University for cetacean satellite tag development work. The vendor's core capability concentration centers on marine mammal behavioral research, cetacean population studies, and environmental impact assessment in support of Navy acoustic testing, sonar operations, and naval environmental compliance initiatives, with secondary work in satellite telemetry technology development and marine resource management for NOAA.