European Union Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products

The European Commission Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) is procuring a service contract to maintain, develop and operate the European Union Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA), covering data collection, harmonisation, analysis, publication, IT systems, security and stakeholder support. The contract is framed as an open eSubmission tender on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal with a reported submission deadline of 4 November 2026 and a planned duration of up to 48 months. The estimated overall contract value is approximately €14,592,000 and the procurement allows consortia; SMEs are marked as not suitable for this specific opportunity. Award will be based on quality (weight 70) and price (weight 30) and bidders must follow the tender specifications and provided templates, including security, VAT and IPR annexes.

What the contract funds

Scope summary

Provision, development, operation and maintenance of the market intelligence service currently delivered by EUMOFA, covering data collection, analysis, reporting and web services for EU fisheries and aquaculture markets.

Estimated contract value:Approximately €14,592,000 for the full procedure ¹.

1. 1Who can apply: legal entities and consortia able to deliver IT, data, analysis and market intelligence services; public purchasers use open competitive tender rules.
2. 2Procedure: open tender with compulsory e-submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal; contracting authority DG MARE (European Commission).
3. 3Duration: contract initial period 12 months, renewable up to 3 times; planned total up to 48 months.
4. 4Key requirements: technical capacity for data management and secure IT operations, compliance with tender specifications and security annexes.
5. 5Deadline: tender submission closes 4 November 2026 (10:00 CET).

Further procurement documents, draft contract and tender specifications are published on the tender page Tender details. ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Primary source and full procurement documents available at the EU Funding & Tenders Portal tender page linked above.

Core Objective

Description of Services Required

The contracting authority (European Commission, DG MARE) requests a contractor to maintain and further develop the activities and services currently delivered by the European Union Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA). The successful bidder will implement, run and maintain a fully fledged market intelligence service on EU fisheries and aquaculture markets covering data collection, processing, analysis, publication, IT systems, security, stakeholder engagement and helpdesk/support. The contract is framed as a public procurement for services and is intended to run for an initial period of 12 months, renewable up to three times, with an overall planned duration of 48 months. The estimated overall contract value is €14,592,000 ¹.

Call identifier and contracting authority:Call ID EC-MARE/2026/OP/0012. Lead contracting authority: European Commission, DG MARE - Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

Deadline and key dates:Submission deadline (eSubmission): 4 November 2026, 10:00:59 (Brussels time). Open tender event / standstill / opening: 5 November 2026 (10:00 local). Additional information request period ends 26 October 2026. Draft procurement and associated documents were published 29 July 2026.

1. 1Eligible Applicant Types: Organisations capable of delivering complex EU-level IT, data and analytical services. Typical eligible applicants include large enterprises, consortia of companies, research institutes, universities, non-profit organisations with relevant capacity, specialised market intelligence providers and public-private partnerships. The procurement documents include requirements for tenderer qualification; SMEs are marked as not suitable for this specific procurement (smeSuitableIndicator: false), which implies preference/need for larger or resourced entities able to fulfil wide-ranging obligations.
2. 2Funding Type: This is a public procurement contract for services (tender) with payments under the contract. It is not a grant, loan or equity instrument. The financial mechanism is a service contract procured by the European Commission with a fixed estimated overall contract amount.
3. 3Consortium Requirement: The procurement allows or expects tenderers to meet selection criteria potentially via consortia or subcontracting arrangements. The tendering terms include selection criteria documentation and specific tenderer requirements indicating that multi-entity consortia are permissible. The procurement is not limited to a single natural person or single SME.
4. 4Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The procurement is run by the European Commission and targets suppliers capable of delivering services across the EU. The geographic eligibility follows standard EU procurement participation rules; bidders from EU Member States and potentially from other countries eligible under EU procurement rules may participate (the call itself references EU funds and DG MARE as contracting authority).
5. 5Target Sector: The tender targets fisheries and aquaculture market intelligence, intersecting sectors of fisheries, aquaculture, marine/blue economy, market analysis, statistics, ICT, data services and publishing. Relevant technology/service areas include data collection, database management, analytics, web services, dashboards, visualisation, and IT security.
6. 6Mentioned Countries: No specific Member States are singled out in the notice text. The region referenced is the European Union (EU).
7. 7Project Stage: The contract is for an operational service: maintenance, development, implementation, operation and continuous improvement. Expected maturity: deployment and operational stage (running/scale-up of established service).
8. 8Funding Amount: The estimated overall contract amount is €14,592,000 for the planned period (48 months with an initial 12-month period renewable 3 times). This figure is the estimated total procedure value stated in the procurement metadata.
9. 9Application Type: Open competitive tender via eSubmission on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The submission method code is ESUBMISSION and submission is required electronically.
10. 10Nature of Support: Monetary compensation through a service contract (contract payments). The contractor will be paid for delivering specified services according to contract terms; no grant-style lump-sum or equity is involved.
11. 11Application Stages: The procurement process includes at minimum the following stages: 1) eSubmission of tender documents (including administrative documentation, technical offer and financial offer); 2) Eligibility and selection checks (qualification); 3) Award evaluation based on quality and price leading to contract award and signature. The published award criteria show two main criteria: quality (70) and price (30). Thus effectively 2 to 3 procedural evaluation stages are expected.
12. 12Success Rates: Not specified in the procurement documents. As a targeted public procurement the success rate depends on number of bidders; historical EU tenders of this profile are competitive (single-digit to low double-digit bidders), but no explicit success rate is provided by the authority.
13. 13Co-funding Requirement: Not required. This is a procurement contract where the contracting authority pays the contractor; bidders are not required to provide co-funding. The contract may require performance guarantees or compliance with VAT/IPR clauses as per draft contract annexes.
14. 14Templates and Required Documents: The procurement package includes standard templates and specific annexes. Key documents published include: invitation to tender; tender specifications (Annex I); draft contract and contract annexes (including security baseline, security requirements, VAT annex, IPR statement); declaration on honour (tender); financial offer form (Annex 6 to TS). Bidders must use the provided financial tender form (Excel) and provide the completed declaration on honour and any requested supporting evidence for selection and award criteria.

Detailed Applicant Requirements and Evaluation

Qualification and selection:Tenderers must satisfy the specific tenderer requirement and selection criteria set out in the tender specifications. The procurement package contains selection/qualification documentation and the contracting authority will evaluate economic, financial, technical and professional capacity. Tenderers are required to submit administrative forms including the declaration on honour, proof of financial standing and relevant technical capacity, previous experience in similar EU-level market intelligence or statistical/IT projects, CVs of key staff, and security compliance documentation. The procurement documents require adherence to security baseline and security requirements annexes for IT systems and data handling.

Awarding and Evaluation Details:Award criteria are split in quality (weight 70) and price (weight 30). The tender specifications instruct bidders to consult the procurement documents for detailed subcriteria and scoring. Quality will cover methodological approach, IT design and operation, data governance, analytics and visualisation, stakeholder engagement, service continuity, helpdesk capacity, staffing and relevant experience; price will be assessed via the provided financial tender form. Bidders should follow the exact templates and formats in the procurement dossier.

Documentation and Submission Checklist

1. 1Complete and sign the Declaration on Honour template (Annex 2 to tender specifications).
2. 2Prepare a detailed technical offer responding to the tender specifications (Annex I) addressing all technical, organizational and security requirements.
3. 3Prepare the financial offer using the provided Excel financial tender form (1.1.b Annex 6 to TS).
4. 4Include proof of legal status, VAT information and any required certificates as per draft contract annexes (VAT annex, IPR statement, security annexes).
5. 5Include CVs and proof of experience for key personnel, and examples of previous projects demonstrating capacity to deliver EU-level market intelligence services.
6. 6Provide evidence of financial and economic standing as requested in the selection criteria.
7. 7Ensure all documents are uploaded through the Funding & Tenders Portal before the eSubmission deadline and comply with the specified file formats and naming conventions.

Procurement documents and templates:The contracting authority has published the following documents as part of the procurement dossier: invitation to tender, tender specifications (Annex I), draft contract (Annex II), Appendix 2 security requirements, Appendix 3 security baseline, Annex III VAT, Annex IV IPR statement, declaration on honour (Annex 2 to TS), and the financial tender form (Annex 6 to TS). Bidders must use these exact templates where provided and consult the tender specifications for full technical and contractual detail.

Contractual and Operational Notes

The contract is procured under EU public procurement rules. The draft contract contains clauses on renewals (contract is concluded for an initial period of 12 months and renewable three times — see draft contract), IPR assignments or licensing obligations, VAT treatment, and security obligations. Appendix 3 and Appendix 2 to the draft contract set mandatory security baselines and IT security requirements. The award will follow standard EU contracting processes including possible performance securities, compliance checks and verification of eligibility and selection documentation. Financial offers will be evaluated against the quality score with an overall 70/30 weighting between quality and price.

Practical Steps to Apply

1. 1Register or sign in to the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (use the eSubmission tools).
2. 2Download and carefully study all procurement documents published on 29 July 2026, including tender specifications, draft contract and annexes.
3. 3Prepare the technical proposal aligned to all sections of the tender specifications and addressing selection and award criteria.
4. 4Complete the financial tender form (Excel) exactly as required and include pricing for the full contract period and any unit rates if requested.
5. 5Assemble administrative documents (declaration on honour, legal and financial documentation) and security compliance materials.
6. 6Submit the full tender package via eSubmission by the deadline 4 November 2026, 10:00:59 (Brussels time). Late submissions will be rejected.
7. 7Monitor the Funding & Tenders Portal and the procurement contact for requests for clarification or additional information before 26 October 2026.

Additional procurement procedural information, submission links and the official tender details page are available on the Funding & Tenders Portal; bidders should refer to the portal entry for the authoritative source and latest updates EUMOFA Tender Details ¹.

Concluding Summary

This is an EU public procurement tender to award a service contract to maintain, develop and operate the European Union Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA). The contracting authority is the European Commission (DG MARE). The procurement targets organisations able to deliver comprehensive market intelligence services across fisheries and aquaculture sectors at EU level, including IT systems, data management, analytics, publications and stakeholder support. The procurement is open via eSubmission on the Funding & Tenders Portal, with a submission deadline of 4 November 2026. The estimated total contract value is €14,592,000 over a planned 48-month period (initial 12-month contract with up to three renewals). Award will be based on quality (70) and price (30), and bidders must use the provided templates and comply with the security, VAT and IPR clauses set out in the draft contract and annexes. Interested suppliers should consult the full procurement dossier on the Funding & Tenders Portal and prepare a compliant technical and financial offer following the submitted templates and instructions.

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement documentation published on 29 July 2026 on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal includes: EUMOFA invitation to tender; Annex I tender specifications; Annex II draft contract and appendices (security baseline, security requirements); Annex III VAT; Annex IV IPR statement; Annex 2 declaration on honour; Annex 6 financial tender form. Full dossier available at the official tender webpage.

This is a European Commission service contract tender for the operation of EUMOFA, the European Union Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products, with the goal of maintaining and developing the current observatory services and delivering a fully fledged market intelligence service for EU fisheries and aquaculture markets.[1][14]

Scope and policy relevance

According to the draft contract, the core assignment is to collect, harmonise, analyse and disseminate data and to conduct market analyses on the EU market for fisheries and aquaculture products.[1] Official Commission material describes EUMOFA as a market intelligence tool designed to improve market transparency and efficiency, support corporate and policy decisions, and monitor volumes, values and prices along the supply chain from first sale to retail, including imports and exports.[14]

• The service is intended to provide continuous market intelligence rather than a one off analytical output.[1][14]
• The observatory data coverage includes fishery and aquaculture products across the supply chain, with regular or daily updates depending on the source material.[14][9]
• The intended user base includes producers, processors, importers, retailers, consumers, market analysts and policy makers.[14]
• The Commission uses EUMOFA to support evidence based market monitoring and policy work in the fisheries and aquaculture sector.[5][14]

Who can apply

The available material identifies this as a public procurement service contract, so the likely bidders are economic operators with the technical and organisational capacity to run a market observatory and deliver data collection, analysis and dissemination services for the Commission.[1][11] The draft contract also contemplates a joint tender, with a leader acting on behalf of the consortium.[1]

• Bidders should be able to manage large scale market data workflows for fisheries and aquaculture products.[1][14]
• Bidders should have experience in market intelligence, statistics, economic analysis or comparable research services.[1][14]
• Bidders should be able to maintain an operational service with regular updates, reporting and dissemination outputs.[1][14]
• Consortia appear to be possible, subject to the tender conditions in the final procurement documents.[1]

Commercial and contractual terms

Deadlines and process notes

The opportunity metadata supplied with the notice lists two deadlines, 1 January 2026 at 09:00:59 UTC and 4 November 2026 at 10:00:59 UTC. The available source package does not explain whether these relate to separate phases, amendments, or different submission events.

For applicants, the most important practical issue is to verify the final tender documents on the official procurement portal, because the available material here confirms the contract purpose and some commercial terms but does not provide a complete bid pack or final budget ceiling.[1][11]