New England Aquarium Corporation

New England Aquarium Corporation, a Boston-based nonprofit organization, operates as a prime recipient of federal contracts and grants in marine species monitoring, protected species research, and ocean conservation science, competing predominantly in full-and-open procurements without set-aside designations. The organization has delivered $24.8 million in combined potential value across 173 recent awards (163 as prime, 10 as sub-recipient), with $66.5 million obligated, reflecting a mix of firm fixed-price service contracts, purchase orders, and competitive research grants spanning marine mammal surveys, sea turtle rehabilitation, acoustic telemetry, and ocean technology development.

NOAA dominates the customer portfolio, accounting for 94 awards valued at $19.9 million in combined potential value and representing 72 percent of award count. The next-tier customers — the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (14 awards), the National Science Foundation (7 awards), and the Department of the Navy (7 awards) — place substantially fewer orders and dollars, signaling high concentration risk. Recent contract wins include a $3.38 million definitive contract awarded January 1, 2025, for aerial survey of protected species in the Gulf of Maine through December 2029 (covering high-resolution photography, line transect surveys, and data analysis of North Atlantic right whales, sea turtles, and marine mammals); a $135 thousand purchase order for Option Year 2 cold-stunned sea turtle triage and rehabilitation services in Juneau, Alaska, extended through September 2029; and a $4.14 million contract exercising Option Period 4 for protected species aerial surveys in Massachusetts and Rhode Island Wind Energy Areas through August 2027, with Aspen Helicopters Inc. (a service-disabled veteran-owned small business) performing helicopter operations as subcontractor.

Grant work spans research, professional development, and ecosystem monitoring. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded a $188 thousand project grant under the Marine Mammal Data Program (CFDA 11.439) effective November 2025 through October 2026 to develop and test the Whale Aerial Sampling Platform (WASP), a drone-based system for remote collection of skin and blubber biopsy samples from marine mammals. The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded $600.1 thousand through the Museums for America program (CFDA 45.301) effective September 2026 through August 2029 to launch professional development in evaluation methods for staff, volunteers, and interns, establishing sustainable evaluation infrastructure for educational and community engagement programs. The U.S. Geological Survey entered a cooperative agreement (G25AC00453) awarded September 12, 2025, through September 11, 2030, for data analysis of fine-scale sea turtle behavior and energy expenditure to support dredging and offshore energy management decisions under Endangered Species Act and NEPA consultation. Additional active grants include an EDA BUILD TO SCALE $3 million project (through October 2025) for the Blue Angels Upswell angel investment capacity-building initiative for bluetech startups, and multiple NOAA cooperative agreements on shark tagging, bull shark recreational fishing impacts, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument monitoring.

The vendor subcontracts to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (data synthesis and photogrammetry work on whale length and body condition), George Mason University (endocrine and stable isotope data analysis), Duke University (Massachusetts and Rhode Island offshore wind ecosystem studies), and other academic and state environmental institutions. Across named sub-awards, the Aquarium contributes field operations, drone-based aerial data collection, and marine mammal research leadership.

Primary NAICS categories reflect the organization's research and educational footprint: Museums (9 awards), Zoos and Botanical Gardens (9 awards), All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (7 awards), and Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (5 awards). Top PSC codes emphasize natural resources and fisheries management (13 awards), special studies in animal and fisheries topics (8 awards), and endangered species analysis (6 awards). Three awards totaling $4.1 million reach completion within the next twenty-four months and face recompete. SCI-reported service-contract activity shows $654 thousand invoiced in FY2022 across 3.5 FTEs at a median government-paid rate of $89.53 per hour, with no SCI-reportable invoicing in FY2023–FY2025, indicating that recent federal work flows predominantly through grant and contract vehicles outside the SCI reporting threshold or through fixed-price purchase order and definitive contract structures that do not generate SCI invoicing records.