PISCES CONSERVATION

What PISCES CONSERVATION does

Pisces Conservation Ltd is a privately-held UK company founded in 1995 that operates three integrated business lines: in-house development of analytical and educational software for ecological and statistical analysis, publishing of classic scientific texts in electronic and printed formats, and environmental consultancy with core expertise in aquatic biology and the ecological effects of water abstraction and discharge. The company's software portfolio centers on Windows desktop applications including the Community Analysis Package (CAP), Ecom, Species Diversity & Richness IV, and QED Statistics, offering multivariate analysis methods (NMDS, CCA, RDA, PCA, TWINSPAN, ANOSIM) with native R integration introduced in CAP Version 6 (September 2019). Specialized tools address sampling, population dynamics (Dynamica), growth curves, fuzzy clustering, hedgerow surveys, and fish impingement prediction via the proprietary PISCES Expert System developed over 16 years.

The company maintains a unique long-term ecological database from monthly monitoring at Hinkley Point power station since October 1980, covering 80+ fish species and 25+ crustacean species over 35+ years, which the company describes as the largest inshore time series available globally. This data set underpins consultancy services, the Dynamica educational software, and research collaborations with EDF Energy, the Environment Agency, Cefas, and JNCC. The business model combines one-time perpetual software licenses priced £17-£499, printed books and e-books at £14.40-£66, bespoke software development, environmental consultancy, and one-day training workshops at £350 + VAT. Distribution occurs through the company's own e-commerce platform with digital downloads as primary delivery, supplemented by on-site training delivery and direct sales for enterprise contracts.

The company serves professional ecologists and biologists, academic researchers and university students (including University of Oxford which uses QED Statistics for data analysis tuition), the UK power generation industry (EDF Energy, E.ON), conservation organizations (Butterfly Conservation, Hampshire Wildlife Trust, AmazonEco), and government agencies (Environment Agency, Cefas, JNCC) across the UK, Europe, and the USA. The company is led by director RMH Seaby (BSc, PhD), based in Hampshire, with a small team of 1-10 employees and no external institutional investment.

Name

PISCES CONSERVATION

Legal name

Pisces Conservation Ltd

Website

https://pisces-conservation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pisces Conservation Ltd is a UK-based firm that develops Windows ecological analysis software (CAP, Ecom, QED Statistics), publishes scientific e-books, and provides environmental consultancy in aquatic biology and power station ecology, serving professional ecologists, academics, and power industry clients globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ecological Analysis Software

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability, ESG & Climate Risk Advisory (BPAHAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Knowledge Management & Scientific Collaboration / Literature Intelligence (HLAGAJAN), Popular Science, Technology & Nature Trade Publishing (MPAJAAAJ)

Keywords

• Ecological analysis software
• Multivariate statistics
• Environmental consultancy
• Species diversity software
• Aquatic biology services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lymington

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses: Sale of analytical and educational software packages with one-time perpetual licenses. Prices range from £37 to £499 per license. Student discounts and multi-user site licenses available.
2. E-books and Printed Books: Electronic and printed scientific texts covering entomology, aquatic biology, botany, and classics of science. E-books available as downloads or CD-ROM.
3. Environmental Consultancy: Consultancy services in aquatic biology, power plant ecology, fish surveys, and ecological assessments. Core expertise in ecological effects of water abstraction and discharge.
4. Bespoke Software Development: Custom software programming for database, simulation, and educational purposes to individual client specifications.
5. Training Courses: One-day multivariate statistics workshops at £350 + VAT plus expenses. Fish identification training courses. Educational lecture packages.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Pisces Conservation develops and sells in-house Windows desktop analytical and educational software for community ecology, multivariate statistics, and species diversity analysis. The company also publishes scientific e-books and printed books and operates an environmental consultancy with core expertise in aquatic biology, power plant ecology, and the ecological effects of water abstraction and discharge.

Product overview

Pisces Conservation operates as both a software publisher and environmental consultancy. The company develops in-house analytical and educational software for ecological and statistical analysis, publishes classic scientific texts as e-books and printed books, and provides ecological consultancy services. The software portfolio centers on the Community Analysis Package (CAP), Ecom, and Species Diversity & Richness for multivariate community ecology analysis, complemented by specialized tools for statistics (QED Statistics, Axis, Fuzzy Grouping), sampling analysis (Density from Distance, Removal Sampling, Simply Tagging, Growth II, Simply Probit), and utilities (EventLogger, ListCombiner, RDE Express, T-Group). Educational products include Dynamica for population dynamics, six lecture series covering seashore ecology, freshwater ecology, Galapagos, multivariate statistics, species diversity, and growth curves, plus multimedia titles on Amazonian fish. The consultancy division focuses on aquatic biology, power plant ecology, fisheries management, and environmental assessment, serving clients in industry, conservation, and regulatory bodies throughout the UK, Europe and USA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Analysis Package (CAP) General multivariate analysis package for Windows with native R integration. Offers NMDS, DECORANA, TWINSPAN, PCA, ANOSIM, SIMPER, cluster analysis for community ecology and other sciences. Targeted at professional ecologists, researchers, and graduate students.
• Ecom Multivariate analysis software offering Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA), Redundancy Analysis (RDA), and Multiple Regression for ecological and scientific data analysis.
• Species Diversity & Richness IV (SDR) Software for calculating alpha and beta diversity methods, covering a wide range of diversity indices and ecological assessment techniques.
• Community Sequence Analysis Windows program for biodiversity and DNA sequence analysis. Calculates diversity and distance measures from genetic sequences and groups clones by similarity. Handles FASTA format files.
• QED Statistics Easy-to-use Windows statistics program for students, postgraduates and researchers. Covers data input through single sample stats to General Linear Models. Used by University of Oxford for data analysis tuition.
• Axis Statistical analysis software for circular data, designed for researchers working with directional or angular data.
• Fuzzy Grouping Fuzzy clustering methods for handling imprecise data, allowing analysis of samples with uncertain or overlapping group membership.
• Density from Distance Estimates animal and plant density from measurements of the distance between objects using distance sampling methods.
• Hedgerow Assistant Guides users through the 1997 Hedgerows Regulations survey procedure for assessing and classifying hedgerows.
• Removal Sampling Calculates population statistics from removal trapping data, used for estimating population sizes in ecological surveys.
• Growth II Fits and plots von Bertalanffy, Seasonally-adjusted von Bertalanffy, Gompertz, Logistic and other growth curves to length and weight at age data.
• Simply Probit Estimates lethal or environmental concentrations using toxicity data for environmental risk assessment.
• Simply Tagging Mark-recapture software for estimating population size of both closed and open populations using tagging data.
• Dynamica Population dynamics software using a 20-year Severn Estuary dataset from Hinkley Point power station. Explores how animal populations and communities change through time with an animated food web. Designed for educational use.
• Ecology Lecture Resources Six PowerPoint lecture series covering seashore ecology, freshwater ecology, Galapagos Islands, multivariate statistics, species diversity, and growth curves, with original photographs. Targeted at A-level, undergraduate and postgraduate students and educators.
• Fish of the Amazon and Their Habitats Multimedia CD with original texts, photographs and videos on Amazonian ecology, fish species, plants, birds and human life from Mamiraua Reserve, Pacaya-Samiria Reserve and Amazonia.
• Applying Multivariate Methods using R, CAP and Ecom Printed book by Peter Henderson and Richard Seaby on multivariate statistics using R and Pisces software. Covers methods for advertising, archaeology, anthropology, botany, geology, palaeontology, sociology and zoology.
• North Sea Fish and Their Remains Printed book by Kees Camphuysen and Peter Henderson on North Sea fish species and identification from remains.
• Identification Guide to the Inshore Fish of the British Isles Definitive identification guide to inshore fish of the British Isles by Peter Henderson; used for fish ID training courses.
• E-books Collection Extensive range of electronic books including classic scientific texts in entomology, aquatic biology, botany, science exploration, theses, and contemporary science. Available as PDF downloads or on CD-ROM.
• Ecological Consultancy Environmental consultancy specializing in aquatic biology, power plant ecology, habitat management, fisheries assessment, and ecological effects of water abstraction. Services include survey/monitoring, environmental statements, expert witnessing, ecological modelling, and ports/dredging consultancy for clients in industry and conservation throughout UK, Europe and USA.
• Bespoke Software Programming Custom software development services for database, simulation and educational purposes to individual client specifications. Previous projects include library systems, butterfly monitoring software, and R-Web for nuclear engineering education.
• Training Courses One-day training courses in multivariate statistical analysis, fish identification, and educational lecture packages delivered at client premises or Pisces office in Hampshire.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fish abundance in Severn Estuary now 3x higher than early 1980s
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cefas (Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2009Pisces worked with Cefas to update and improve the PISCES expert system software for predicting fish impingement, both a tailor-made version for Cefas and a commercial application. Both versions expanded databases on which impingement predictions are based.
• JNCC (Joint Nature Conservation Committee)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPisces developed Habitat Matching software with JNCC to identify habitats to biotope level from sample data, requiring development of complex analytical and classification techniques enabling major advance in habitat classification.
• MIDI-CHIP Project (EU 5th Framework)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Sequence Analysis software developed in collaboration with top European genetics laboratories under EU 5th Framework, taking biodiversity analysis into a new dimension for researchers in DNA sequence analysis.
• AmazonEcominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPisces staff have worked with AmazonEco since 2006 in the Peruvian Amazon, studying ecology and conservation of caiman and fish fauna.
• Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of KentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research collaboration with DICE in the Peruvian Amazon as part of conservation projects.
• Operation WallaceaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration in the Peruvian Amazon where Pisces staff teach students and volunteers and study wildlife ecology.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• PAST (PAleontological STatistics): PAST is a free, widely used scientific statistics package covering multivariate analysis, diversity indices and ecological statistics with a similar user base to PISCES' QED Statistics and CAP. As a free academic tool it pressures PISCES' pricing and adoption among students and budget-constrained researchers.
• NatureMetrics: NatureMetrics provides biodiversity monitoring using environmental DNA and modern digital tooling, serving environmental consultants, regulators and corporates. It targets an overlapping demand for ecological evidence but uses a different technology stack, representing the modern direction of the market PISCES serves.

Direct peers

• Aquatic Informatics: Aquatic Informatics provides software and data management solutions for environmental monitoring, water quality and aquatic ecology programs used by governments and utilities. It overlaps with PISCES on environmental monitoring software and aquatic biology tooling for institutional customers.
• EstimateS (Robert K. Colwell): EstimateS is a statistical software tool for biodiversity and ecological sampling, calculating species richness, diversity estimators and rarefaction curves. It is a direct free/cheap substitute for PISCES' Species Diversity & Richness product among academic ecologists.
• APEM Ltd: APEM is a UK-based aquatic environmental consultancy with specialist expertise in fish and macroinvertebrate surveys, water framework directive assessments, and power station/industrial cooling water monitoring. It is a direct peer for PISCES' consultancy division and competes for similar clients including the Environment Agency and power generators.
• Enviresearch: Enviresearch is a UK environmental consultancy covering ecology, hydrology, water quality and EIA services. It competes with PISCES' consultancy practice for similar industrial, infrastructure and government clients in the UK.
• Microcomputer Power (CANOCO): CANOCO is the canonical community ordination software used for constrained and unconstrained ordination in ecology. It directly competes with PISCES' Ecom package (CCA, RDA) and is widely adopted by academic ecologists for similar multivariate workflows.
• PRIMER-e: PRIMER-e develops the PRIMER multivariate statistics software for community ecology and environmental science, used by marine biologists and ecologists worldwide. It is the closest direct competitor to PISCES' CAP and Ecom products and serves an overlapping academic, government and environmental consulting customer base.
• PC-ORD (MjM Software Design): PC-ORD is a multivariate analysis software package for community ecology, offering ordination, cluster analysis and diversity methods comparable to PISCES' CAP. It targets the same ecological research and teaching market with overlapping analytical features.

Broad incumbents

• ADAS: ADAS is a major UK environmental and agricultural consultancy offering ecology, water, soils and environmental assessment services. While far broader in scope than PISCES, it competes for environmental impact assessment and aquatic ecology mandates from similar government and developer clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/piscesconservation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PISCES CONSERVATION