The Asian tiger prawn is a real monster of the "shrimp" world. To quote the Houston Chronicle, it is "a foot-long crustacean with a voracious appetite and a proclivity for disease." And it's starting to show up in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

 

Asian tiger prawns (Penaeus monodon) are, as you might suspect, a native of Asia. Their natural habitat is the western Pacific, along the coastline of Asia, Africa, and even as far south as coastal Australia. It is the "most widely cultured shrimp in the world," and for good reason. Economically, the Asian tiger prawn grows quickly and provides a lot of meat. The meat is also more flavorful than many other species, and is in high demand on the market. What more could a shrimp farmer want?

Ecologically, the Asian tiger prawn could spell disaster for the native species in the Gulf of Mexico if it gets a foothold. This monster crustacean pulls no punches. Releasing Asian tiger prawns along the Gulf is like releasing lions into a pen full of lambs. The disaster isn't "whether" it's "when."

 

From an evolutionary perspective, the Asian tiger prawn's weakness is its susceptibility to disease. There are several diseases known to shrimp farmers because they can wipe out an entire shrimp farm's population within days. One of the worst is  Yellowhead disease, which is a viral infection that spreads quickly - and it spreads to local native species, as well. 

 

In other words, everything the Asian tiger prawn doesn't eat, it will sicken.

 

Surprisingly, considering the potential threat the Asian tiger prawn poses to American ecosystems, it is legal to ranch them here. You simply need a special permit from the state. From there, it's just a matter of time before a disaster releases the prawns into the Gulf. Either an economic disaster (if for some reason the ranching operation goes bankrupt, the owners just open the pens and dump their shrimp into the ocean) or a weather disaster (shrimp pens are often torn open during hurricanes, which are prevalent in the area). The shrimp are also commonly raised in the Caribbean, where ocean currents can sweep loose shrimp north into the American coastline.

 

Three prawns have been found off the coast of Texas since June. Shrimpers are being asked to keep an eye out for any Asian tiger prawns in their normal catch, and to report them to the state if found, along with the GPS coordinates where the prawn was caught.