Sealord Group Ltd, a New Zealand-based deep sea fishing company, has proposed a major aquaculture joint venture off Sabah because of its good climate and warm waters.

Sabah is ideal for fast-growing fish, as cyclones and typhoons were absent in its waters, which is between 27 and 32 degrees Celsius, said David Lyttle, the company's general manager in the aquaculture division.

Tiger groupers would be ideal for the Asian markets and sea bass as fish fillets for the European markets, he said, adding that such a venture would create thousands of jobs and training in deep sea fishing as well as transfer of technology of deep sea fish processing for the locals.

Lyttle also briefed Sabah's Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman on the possibilities of starting up a fully integrated marine finfish aquaculture project in Sabah, pointing out that half the fish the world consumed today were from aquaculture.

He added that the proposed project would include hatcheries, nurseries, ponds, sheltered sea cages, open ocean sea cages, fish feed mills and other related service and support of the industry.

Sealord Group Ltd, a global seafood enterprise, has been in operation for the past 20 years, having established a fishing, processing and marketing distribution network around the world for deep sea fish. The company supplies fish to eateries such as McDonalds, Sam's Club and Waitrose.