Flesh from these animals is often commercially sold in restaurants as "langostino" or sometimes dishonestly called "lobster" when incorporated in seafood dishes. As well as being used for human consumption, there is demand for squat lobster meat to be used as feed in fish farms and shrimp or prawn farms. This is in part because they contain astaxanthin, a pigment that helps to colour the meat of farmed salmon and trout.
Despite their worldwide distribution and great abundance, there are few functioning fisheries for squat lobsters. Experimental fisheries have occurred in several countries, including Argentina, Mexico, and New Zealand, but commercial exploitation is currently restricted to Latin America, and chiefly to Chile. The main target species are Pleuroncodes monodon, P. planipes, and Cervimunida johni.
In Central America, the primary species of squat lobster targeted by fisheries is a species of Pleuroncodes. There is a great deal of confusion over both scientific names and common names, and the exact species is often unknown. In El Salvador, for instance, the commercial catch is generally referred to as "P. planipes", but is in fact P. monodon. Commercial fishing for squat lobsters in El Salvador began in the early 1980s; production increased markedly in the 2001 season, and has continued to grow, now making up 98% of the demersal resources landed in El Salvador, with annual catches peaking at 13,708 t in 2005. In Costa Rica, aggregations of squat lobsters are avoided, as the fishermen fear the squat lobsters will clog their nets. In Nicaragua, squat lobsters are heavily exploited, especially following a large increase in fishing effort in the 2007 season. In Panama, production reached 492 t in 2008. Chilean squat lobster fisheries initially targeted Cervimunida johni, beginning in 1953. By the mid-1960s, effort had largely switched to P. monodon. In an effort to conserve stocks, the Chilean government instituted quotas for squat lobsters, and the fishery is closely monitored. In New Zealand, Munida gregaria has been considered as a potential fisheries resource, particularly to feed farmed Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).
Based on the following paragraph on squat lobster fisheries, where do such fisheries exist today?
Commercial fisheries for squat lobsters currently exist only in Latin America, mainly in Chile due to the restriction on commercial exploitation of these animals. There are, however, a number of experimental fisheries in countries such as Argentina, Mexico, and New Zealand.