Chatham Processing Limited is fully owned by AFL. Based at Waitangi on the Chatham Islands, its core business is exporting live lobsters, wetfish, scallops and kina (sea urchin).
The company maintains a high-revenue export operation, mainly into China. Through improved technology and efficiency live lobsters can be taken from CPL holding tanks on the islands to restaurants, retail outlets and hotels in mainland China in a day.
The Chatham Islands fishery is known for being the only area in Aotearoa where large lobsters - in excess of 2.5kgs - are caught in any significant volume. An upgrade of the Waitangi factory has enabled the company to increase its holding capacity, product quality and processing efficiency. CPL can hold up to eight tonnes of live lobster at any one time.
CPL is the largest single employer on the island. Seventy-five percent of the employees are from the local iwi. In the off-season, CPL employs up to 20 people. However, that doubles during the peak season.