The Shallow Marine and Coastal Research Infrastructure (SMCRI) is is one of 14 large Research Infrastructures developed by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) as part of the South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap (SARIR). The SMCRI was established in 2017 to develop an array of instruments and physical research platforms around the coast of South Africa and its sub-Antarctic Islands to collect long-term reliable data for scientific research to help decision makers formulate appropriate environmental policies to lessen the risk and vulnerability of the coastal zone to climate and global change.