Situated in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape, the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) is an internationally recognised centre for the study of aquatic biodiversity. SAIAB runs a number of large, interdisciplinary and multi-institutional programmes, such as the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme (ACEP), as well as internal programmes in the fields of freshwater, marine and coastal systems, ranging from South African coastal, estuarine and freshwater systems, to exploration of central African river systems and the Western Indian Ocean islands. Research in these areas is directed at fish taxonomy, systematics, genetics, phylogeography, biology, ecology, ethology, conservation, and fisheries management.
SAIAB hosts the Elwandle Node (coastal and inshore areas) of the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) as well as the management office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funded GEF project, the Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystem Programme (ASCLME).