Sub Sea Sonics, LLC

Sub Sea Sonics, LLC, a San Diego-based limited liability company and manufacturer of acoustic release and ropeless fishing technologies, operates as a federal grant recipient and prime contractor to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, competing on full-and-open basis with no set-aside designations.

Sub Sea Sonics specializes in the design, development, and production of buoyless and ropeless fishing systems—specifically acoustic release mechanisms and deck-mounted control systems—that enable commercial fishermen to retrieve gear on demand without vertical lines, reducing marine mammal entanglement risk. The vendor's federal footprint consists entirely of NOAA awards spanning marine conservation innovation across both contracting and grant vehicles. On the contract side, Sub Sea Sonics received a $1.586 million firm-fixed-price definitive contract from NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center (awarded August 2024, running through August 2029 with four one-year option periods) to deliver up to 20 deck systems including controllers and transducers, plus up to 50 underwater acoustic release systems supporting ropeless fishing adoption. The company operates as a federal grant recipient under NOAA's Cooperative Research Program (CFDA 11.472) and related science initiatives. Recent grant work includes a $228,581 Cooperative Agreement (June 2026–May 2031) focused on developing and testing the Deep-water Acoustic Release for Ropeless Traps (DAR4RT) system through three phases of bench, shallow-water, and deep-water field testing at depths of at least 80 fathoms; a $399,168 Unallied Science Program cooperative agreement demonstrating large-scale ropeless fishing adoption for California Dungeness crab fishers; a cooperative agreement targeting full-scale testing with 20 fishers during California's spring closure season; and a project grant addressing cost reduction and adaptability for single-line trap fisheries across crabs, lobsters, shrimp, and crayfish.

Customer concentration is absolute: NOAA accounts for 100% of awards and 100% of combined potential value across all seven identified awards (six prime, one sub-grant through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation). Sub Sea Sonics holds no federal contract vehicles, GWACs, BPAs, or IDIQs; all work flows through direct NOAA solicitations or NOAA grant programs. Recent activity shows sporadic awards in 2022 (two grants), 2024 (one grant, one contract), 2025 (one grant), and 2026 (one grant), with combined obligated dollars ($2.5 million) exceeding combined potential value ($1.6 million), indicating additional funding or amendments. One award approaches recompete within the next twenty-four months. The vendor's federal footprint reflects a pure-play marine conservation technology company with zero subcontract exposure and exclusive NOAA engagement, positioning it as a niche supplier in ropeless fishing innovation rather than a broad-based federal contractor.