SSP FOR INNOVASEA TRANSPONDERS AND RECEIVERS

School of Ocean Science & Engineering
Division of Coastal Sciences
10 March 2026
To whom it may concern,
InnovaSea is the premier company in passive acoustic telemetry devices for tracking of aquatic
organisms. Their reputation for customer service and product quality has positioned them as the top
producer of such equipment.
USM (in particular Michael Andres' Estuarine and Movement Ecology Lab in the Division of Coastal
Sciences and the Center for Fisheries Research and Development) have been funded by state and federal
sponsors to track and monitor fish populations in Mississippi's waters and beyond. This technology
ensures that we are able to detect presence/absence of telemetered species in our waters as well as those
from collaborators outside of our system. All of USM's current infrastructure for tracking fishes using
passive acoustic technology as well as our collaborators across the Gulf use their technology, meaning
that when our study organisms move into different systems we are able to track those movements (and
vice versa) to ensure that we are addressing the concerns of the state and federal sponsors of out telemetry
projects. Other companies do sell technology like InnovaSea's but none of their competitors sell
technology that is both backward and forward compatible with the investment in technology currently
made by USM and state and federal partners. Furthermore, no other competitor has come close to the
quality or data precision that we have seen.
The prices quoted by InnovSea are reasonable as the company has not meaningfully raised their prices in
the more than a decade that we have been purchasing equipment from them. They have also been forward
thinking with the advances in their technology and have hosted many workshops training students and
staff in the use of their equipment at professional meetings. Their customer service is prompt and cloud-
based storage options ensure that data is maintained and secure.
Please let me know if you require any additional justification,
Michael J. Andres, PhD
Assistant Professor
Estuarine and Movement Ecology Lab
Division of Coastal Sciences
Phone: 228-872-4275
Email: michael.andres@usm.edu
Department of Coastal Sciences, School of Ocean Science & Engineering, University of Southern Mississippi
703 East Beach Drive * Ocean Springs, MS * 39564
Phone (228) 872-4203