Lisolomzi Fikizolo

Lisolomzi Fikizolo has been in the South African civil service from 1995 till to date, a period during which he served in various positions. One of the positions that he has held is that of the National Director of Fisheries Protection Vessels (FPVs), a Directorate of the National Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) Unit, responsible for the management and deployment of FPVs both within the South African Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ) and the South African Development Community (SADC) region. During this period, he also served as an MCS expert representing South Africa in the SADC Fisheries Working Group which developed the strategy for the establishment of the SADC MCS Regional Centre in Maputo, Mozambique.  He also worked for the National Department of Transport (Maritime Transport Unit) as a Chief Director for Maritime Infrastructure and Industry Development, facilitating the revival of ship building in South Africa and the improvement of port facilities in the eight (8) commercial ports of South Africa; negotiation of bilateral agreements and policy development for the maritime transport industry. Currently, he is a Chief Director: Specialist Monitoring Services in the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment. In his current position part of his brief includes policy development and implementation of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP); Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), logistics and management of bases in Antarctica; Marion Island, and the Gough Island. He was appointed as the alternate representative of South Africa to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in 2007, and as a Commissioner in 2016. In 2019 he was appointed to lead the South African delegation to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM). He is also serving as a Commissioner of South Africa to the Abidjan Convention; Benguela Current Convention and the Nairobi Convention.  He holds a major in zoology from the University of Transkei (now Walter Sisulu University) and maritime economics post graduate qualifications from the University of Stellenbosch.