Little is known about the Scyllarids, compared with the more valuable spiny and clawed lobster families.
Among the 20 genera and at least 88 species constituting the four subfamilies of Scyllaridae, only members of four genera form any kind of significant fishery because of the large size of individuals.
While Scyllaridae are large and suitable for human consumption, only a few species support trap fisheries.
Part of the problem in fishing these less commonly taken species lies in understanding the effects of various trap configurations (shape/design, weight, presence of flats, movability in stormy weather, etc.) on the catchability of the lobsters... Until more work is conducted on trap design specifically for slipper lobsters, it is likely that most species will continue to be caught as by-catch of other fisheries.
