Abstract
The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most critically endangered marine mammals, with fewer than 370 individuals remaining. A leading threat to their survival is entanglement in the ropes used in lobster fishing gear, which can cause severe injury or death. At the same time, lobster fishing is an important economic and cultural livelihood for many communities in New England. Balancing the protection of right whales with the sustainability of the lobster industry isa complex challenge. One promising solution is the use of on-demand, or “ropeless” fishing gear. This thesis presents Game Changing Conservation (GCC), an educational video game developed in collaboration with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) to engage high school students with this important cause. The game allows players to explore two perspectives: that of a whale navigating entanglement risks, and that of a lobsterman using on-demand fishing gear. Developed in Unity and deployed for the web, the game is optimized for accessibility across a wide range of devices. To support classroom engagement, an online leaderboard was built along with an accompanying dashboard that enables teachers to view and manage the student score data. The final product delivers an accessible and engaging video game experience which promotes awareness of marine conservation and sustainable fishing practices.