Giant Asian Tiger Shrimp Invade U.S. Coastal Waters (VIDEO)

Asian tiger shrimp, which can grow to the length of a man’s forearm and are voracious predators, are establishing themselves in U.S. coastal waters. Will these monster shrimp upset local ecosystems?

Giant cannibal shrimp are invading the coasts of America en masse — and while it sounds like the work of a mad scientist in one of those cheesy, low-budget, black-and-white 1950s science-fiction movies, the danger (or rather, lack thereof) is all too real.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) researchers have discovered that there were more than 10 times as many sightings of Asian tiger shrimp, which can grow to be more than a foot long and can consume their smaller relatives, off the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts in the US in 2011 than there were in 2010.

VIDEO via WSJ: