Sea cucumbers are exploited by humans, mainly as food. Despite their name, they are not eaten whole like a cucumber because their bodies contain toxic chemicals. Instead, they are boiled to separate the external body wall from the organs. The body wall is served as a delicacy in Asian cuisine (trepang) or dried for use as flavoring. It turns out that the toxins make sea cucumbers valuable for other uses. Fisherman put ground sea cucumbers into the water to cause respiratory problems in fishes, making them semi-conscious and easier to catch. Sea cucumber toxins have medicinal potential for humans. Pharmaceutical companies are studying their properties as antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and/or anticoagulants. Their usefulness has put sea cucumber populations at risk, for example off Ecuador's coast where they are heavily fished for export to Asian markets. Concern about overharvest has led Ecuador and other nations to include sea cucumbers in marine management plans.