Giant Tiger Prawns - invasive to the GOM but whats the downside?

Not sure. I don't think they Re as invasive as people think. I know several trawlers and they catch 2-3 a season. Maybe they better at getting out of nets?

Bottom line is anything can change the balance of an ecosystem. LA has been hit as hard as Florida in terms of harm caused by invasive species. If we could go back 100 years and stop the import of exotic plants and fish so a few people could have pretty aquariums or backyard ponds, then whole waterways wouldn't be entirely choked with Salvinia or Hyacinths and the migration patterns of ducks to the Atchafalaya and Manchac Swamps wouldn't have changed. These invasive plants are so bad that popular lakes are so choked boats can't even traverse them. Stupid fricks in FL decided to release their Pythons in the Everglades and now they're overrun. There is an endless list from which to establish precedence on this so being concerned about Tiger Prawns is definitely warranted. That said, Asian Tiger Prawns were discovered some 20 years ago here and they haven't exactly wreaked havoc yet so there's reason for cautious optimism on this one.

PSA: When your kids' need to get rid of a pet that isn't native to an area, do not release it to your neighborhood pond, canal, lake, whatever. Just flush the fricker...

Edit: Corrected a couple typos but why do people downvote something that's true? Probably one of those idiots who released a Lionfish because they got tired of it looking pretty in their den.