WelcomeThe Tech for Global Good

Design Challenge

Sharks

Smart Parks Smart Parks combines conservation with innovation and technology to protect some of the world’s most threatened animal populations.

IntroductionTerms to know:

The Tech for Global Good

The Tech for Global Good is an initiative that will create the next generation of innovators ready to tackle the toughest challenges facing our planet.

Innovation Design Process

Designing a solution for the Great White Shark in the Pacific Ocean off of North America (California, United States of America)Your team is working directly with the State of California to innovate in marine life conservation. As a company, your team has the ability to create policy and new technologies to help maintain and protect great white shark populations in the Farallon Islands and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries.

On the following pages you will receive more information about the challenges of protecting sharks around the globe. Think about the different issues presented to help inspire your solution. As a company it is okay to design solutions where you collaborate with other organizations and governments, and where you can create new or innovate on current technologies. What will you do to create a change in California that will ripple out into the world?

Changing OceansOceans cover 72% of the Earth’s surface, contain 97% of the planet’s water and create 50% of the oxygen in the atmosphere. Understanding and protecting oceans is key to human survival. Part of learning about the ocean is to understand its food chains and ecosystems. At the top of many food chains in the ocean there are sharks. They help balance marine animal populations and maintain healthy ecosystems.

Currently, scientists have identified over 400 different species of sharks. Determining exact populations is nearly impossible due to the size of the ocean and our current technological capabilities. What scientists do know is that there

are changes in the ocean ecosystems that are having an impact on sharks and on shark/human interactions, including:

• Loss of coral reef and other habitats for some shark species.

• Sharks follow where the food is, that means going to the protected areas near the coast where seals or sea lions live. This increases the chance of human and shark interactions.

• Sharks live a long time and reproduce slower than other fish, which makes quick adjustments to changes in ocean climates more difficult.

• Changes in water temperature and increased acidification of the water can make finding prey and breathing harder for sharks.

• Increased fishing for both sharks and their food sources decreases the number of sharks overall.

All of these changes affect shark numbers and behaviors. Scientists believe the biggest change in shark numbers can be attributed to shark finning (taking of shark fins for soup) and the curio trade (taking part or all of a shark for tourist or collection reasons like collecting shark teeth). It is hard to get a full picture of how many sharks are caught for

What do you already know about sharks? Draw or write about your ideas (complete sentences are not necessary).

1. Research the problem:

• Understand the design challenge.

• Read the background material.

2. Brainstorming:

• Write each idea (text/image/both) on a sticky note and put it on the whiteboard.

• Be creative! Think of as many wild ideas as possible.

• Develop questions and search out answers.

3. Create a solution:

• Each member shares their sticky notes and post them on the board.

• Group together similar ideas.

• Choose a few ideas to focus on or combine into your team’s solution.

4. Refine your solution:

• Get feedback from peers on your solution.

• Edit your solution and improve how it addresses the problems your team is focusing on.

5. Design a project and presentation:

• Get feedback on your solution from others.

• Please show:

• The specific problem your team is going to address.

• Your team’s solution for this problem.

• Story of how someone is impacted by your work.

Design Challenge

You and your team run an animal conservation foundation based out of San Jose that develops innovative technology and policy plans to help save endangered and threatened animals. Your team will use your skills as communicators, researchers, collaborators and creative problem-solvers to assist governments and communities in developing plans to help create more sustainable environments for animals and humans.

these reasons due to different laws regarding fishing for sharks, the size of the ocean and illegal trade. The current estimate is that 100 million sharks are caught a year and 73 million of those are for soup and the curio trade. There is not a way to know how many of the 73 million sharks are from any particular species.

Great White SharksAlong the coast of California there are many species of sharks, and perhaps one of the most famous species is the great white shark. Some great white sharks have their pups along the coast of Southern California. In the fall (August to November), young adult and adult great white sharks stop by the Farallon Islands (30 miles away from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco) to hunt elephant seals and other animals. Throughout the year these great white sharks often migrate to the Baja Peninsula of Mexico and out to Hawaii through a region scientists have named “The Shark Cafe.”

Currently, great white sharks are considered a vulnerable species to extinction. Estimates from shark tagging efforts suggest that their numbers are between 1,000 and 3,000. The science community is concerned that if this is accurate and given the length of time it takes for sharks to grow and reproduce that great white sharks are at a higher risk of becoming extinct. Since 1994, the State of California has been working to provide more protections for these sharks. Some of the current policies include:

• No person is allowed to attract great white sharks anywhere in the Farallon Island and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries. This includes the use of food, bait, chum, dyes, decoys, etc. This does not include the presence of humans. Pe

rson

aTe

chno

logy

Org

aniz

atio

nsO

pini

ons

Inte

rnat

iona

l A

ppro

ache

s

• M

ake

fake

sh

ark

fi n s

oup

by s

ubst

itutin

g gl

ass

nood

les.

• D

NA

test

ing

of

shar

k tis

sue

to

iden

tify

spec

ies.

• H

KSha

rkFo

unda

tion.

org

Hon

g Ko

ng b

ased

ad

voca

cy g

roup

th

at p

rovi

des

reso

urce

s an

d or

gani

zes

actio

n to

pr

otec

t sha

rks.

• Tr

ipAd

viso

r ha

s re

view

s of

the

best

res

taur

ants

to

get

sha

rk

fi n s

oup.

• Ch

ange

.org

pe

titio

n to

ask

Fo

od N

etw

ork

to s

top

any

cook

ing

show

s us

ing

shar

k.•

Twitt

er:

#sha

rkfi n

trad

e #s

hark

fi nso

up

• Th

e ‘R

eal C

ost o

f Sh

ark

Fin

Soup

’ in

itiat

ive

in C

hina

to

enco

urag

e pe

ople

to

cha

nge

the

prac

tice

of s

ervi

ng

shar

k fi n

sou

p at

w

eddi

ngs.

• CI

TES

(Con

vent

ion

on In

tern

atio

nal

Trad

e in

En

dang

ered

Spe

cies

of

Wild

Fau

na a

nd

Flor

a) c

ount

ries

re

quir

e pe

rmits

fo

r fi s

hing

of g

reat

w

hite

sha

rks.

• D

rone

s w

ith A

I te

chno

logy

to

spot

sha

rks.

• Su

bmar

ines

and

su

bmer

sibl

es

that

can

col

lect

da

ta w

here

hu

man

s ca

nnot

tr

avel

. •

GPS

and

rad

io

trac

kers

to

colle

ct d

ata

on

shar

k tr

avel

pa

tter

ns th

roug

h th

e oc

ean.

• M

arin

eBio

Co

nser

vatio

n So

ciet

ySo

urce

for

data

on

mar

ine

spec

ies,

co

nser

vatio

n, a

nd

rese

arch

. •

Haw

ai’i

Inst

itute

of

Mar

ine

Biol

ogy

Sour

ce fo

r res

earc

h in

mar

ine

biol

ogy,

in

clud

ing

shar

ks.

• At

lant

ic W

hite

Sh

ark

Cons

erva

ncy

Rese

arch

, ed

ucat

ion

and

publ

ic s

afet

y ar

ound

whi

te

shar

ks in

the

Atla

ntic

Oce

an.

• G

loba

l Sha

rk

Trac

ker

App

Appl

icat

ion

that

co

nnec

ts w

ith

shar

ks ta

gged

an

d tr

acke

d by

a

nonp

rofi t

.•

Expe

ditio

n G

reat

W

hite

App

Mar

ine

Cons

erva

tion

Scie

nce

Inst

itute

sh

ares

thei

r ad

ult

grea

t whi

te s

hark

tr

acki

ng d

ata

in

real

tim

e.•

Twitt

er:

#sha

rkbi

olog

ist,

#mar

ineb

iolo

gy,

#sha

rkla

b

• W

ildbo

ok fo

r W

hale

Sha

rks

Scie

ntis

ts u

se

phot

ogra

phs

of

the

ocea

n ta

ken

by

citiz

en s

cien

tists

and

th

en a

naly

ze th

em

to lo

ok fo

r wha

le

shar

ks b

y us

ing

an

artifi

cia

l int

ellig

ence

pr

ogra

m d

evel

oped

by

NAS

A. T

his

proj

ect l

ed to

man

y ne

w d

isco

verie

s.•

Shar

k Re

sear

ch

Inst

itute

Cond

ucts

rese

arch

an

d co

nser

vatio

n an

d ha

s offi

ces

all

over

the

wor

ld.

Shar

k Bi

olog

ist

I con

duct

rese

arch

to

help

fi nd

out

mor

e ab

out

shar

ks. I

t is

hard

to fu

lly

unde

rsta

nd m

any

bree

ds

of s

hark

s be

caus

e of

the

dept

hs a

nd d

ista

nces

th

ey tr

avel

thro

ugho

ut

the

year

. Thr

ough

radi

o an

d G

PS tr

acke

rs w

e ha

ve re

cent

ly s

tart

ed le

arni

ng

muc

h m

ore

abou

t how

gre

at w

hite

sha

rks

and

othe

r sh

arks

trav

el th

e oc

eans

. It i

s an

exc

iting

tim

e w

ith m

any

disc

over

ies

on th

e ho

rizon

like

the

bree

ding

and

soc

ial

beha

vior

s of

larg

e sh

arks

. How

ever

, it s

eem

s lik

e sh

arks

ar

e di

sapp

earin

g an

d w

e ar

e ha

ving

a h

ard

time

fi ndi

ng

new

sha

rks

to s

tudy

. Som

e of

my

colle

ague

s ha

ve e

ven

snuc

k in

to s

eafo

od a

uctio

n ho

uses

to g

et c

ount

s of

sha

rk

prod

ucts

bei

ng s

old.

We

are

on th

e ve

rge

of k

now

ing

mor

e ab

out t

hese

ess

entia

l pre

dato

rs a

t the

sam

e tim

e th

ey a

re

disa

ppea

ring

from

the

ocea

n. H

ow c

an w

e pr

otec

t sha

rks

befo

re th

ere

aren

’t en

ough

to s

tudy

?

Rest

aura

teur

I ow

n a

popu

lar

rest

aura

nt in

Hon

g Ko

ng

whe

re p

eopl

e co

me

from

al

l ove

r the

wor

ld to

ha

ve la

vish

din

ners

and

pa

rtie

s. O

ne o

f the

dis

hes

we

trad

ition

ally

ser

ve

is s

hark

fi n

soup

, whi

ch

take

s tw

o da

ys to

mak

e be

caus

e sh

ark

fi n ta

kes

a lo

t of w

ork

to p

repa

re. H

owev

er,

it is

bec

omin

g cl

ear t

hat s

ome

shar

ks a

re o

verfi

she

d an

d I h

ave

no w

ay o

f kno

win

g if

my

fi ns

com

e fr

om a

th

reat

ened

spe

cies

. Als

o, s

hark

fi n

does

n’t h

ave

nutr

ition

al

valu

e an

d it

is h

igh

in m

ercu

ry c

onte

nt s

o it

is u

nhea

lthy.

W

hat d

o I d

o? If

I st

op s

ervi

ng it

man

y of

my

long

sta

ndin

g cu

stom

ers

will

go

to o

ther

rest

aura

nts

and

if I c

ontin

ue to

se

rve

it I w

ill lo

se th

e yo

unge

r cus

tom

ers

that

see

sha

rk fi

n so

up a

s a

dang

er to

the

envi

ronm

ent.

Pers

pect

ives

on

the

Issu

e

• No one is allowed to approach any great white shark within 50 meters or within two nautical miles of the Farallon Islands.

• No one in California is allowed to possess, sell, trade or distribute shark fins of any kind within the state.

• Accidental fishing or collecting specimens for research will be decided case by case through the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) as of 2013.

These are the main protections offered to sharks near the Farallon Island and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries. Not far beyond these are international waters, which are not regulated or patrolled by one governing body. This means the rules change and there is not a lot of oversight. Furthermore, there are a number of unconnected agencies that enforce these laws, including the CDFW, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the Coast Guard. To see how other coastal places create policies regarding sharks and human-shark interactions research Western Australia, the State of Florida, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

From Your Reading Below are some questions to help you process what you read.

• What are some problems that affect shark populations?

• What questions do you have based on your reading?

Pers

ona

Tech

nolo

gyO

rgan

izat

ions

Opi

nion

sIn

tern

atio

nal

App

roac

hes

• Sh

arkb

anz,

elec

trom

agne

tic

ankl

e br

acel

et to

det

er a

sha

rk.

It on

ly w

orks

on

cert

ain

shar

ks

at v

ery

clos

e ra

nge.

• St

udyi

ng s

hark

eye

sigh

t, ch

angi

ng s

urfb

oard

s to

dar

k bl

ue o

r bla

ck c

olor

s to

look

like

w

ater

to s

hark

s.•

Shar

kSto

pper

, aco

ustic

re

pella

nt th

at m

akes

th

e so

unds

of a

n or

ca,

a sh

ark

pred

ator

.•

Wet

suits

in b

lack

and

whi

te

strip

es to

look

like

sea

sna

kes.

• Li

fegu

ards

and

coa

st g

uard

s us

ing

dron

es to

hel

p pa

trol

ar

eas

whe

re th

ere

are

surf

ers

or s

wim

mer

s.•

Clev

er B

uoy,

a d

evic

e th

at

mon

itors

the

wat

er u

sing

rada

r to

det

ect s

hark

like

mov

emen

t pa

tter

ns a

nd s

end

aler

ts.

• Tr

acki

ng S

hark

sPr

oduc

es a

map

ab

out s

hark

at

tack

bite

s th

at

can

be r

evie

wed

by

yea

r.•

Surf

ride

r Fo

unda

tion

Mis

sion

to

prot

ect t

he

wor

ld’s

ocea

ns,

wav

es a

nd

beac

hes.

• D

orsa

l app

Cr

owds

ourc

e in

form

atio

n on

sh

ark

sigh

tings

.•

Ther

e ar

e m

any

surf

er o

pini

on

piec

es w

ritt

en

abou

t sha

rks

with

a w

ide

rang

e of

per

spec

tives

an

d pr

opos

ed

solu

tions

. Goo

gle

sear

ch “s

urfe

r op

inio

ns a

bout

sh

arks

” to

read

a

few

.•

Twitt

er:

#sha

rks

#sur

fers

, #s

urfe

rs4s

hark

s,

#sav

esha

rks

• Cu

ll Sh

arks

Som

etim

es a

fter

a

surf

er is

att

acke

d by

a s

hark

peo

ple

go o

ut a

nd k

ill

shar

ks in

the

area

.•

Drum

lines

Net

s ar

ound

sw

imm

ing

and

surfi

ng

area

s to

ke

ep s

hark

s ou

t. Th

e ne

ttin

g ca

n ki

ll sh

arks

, tur

tles

and

dolp

hins

.•

Glo

bal W

ave

Conf

eren

ceSu

rfer

s,

cons

erva

tioni

sts

and

inno

vato

rs w

ork

toge

ther

to c

ome

up

with

new

idea

s to

pr

otec

t mar

ine

life.

• In

tern

et S

ales

Site

sPe

ople

sel

l pro

duct

s on

line

and

then

shi

p th

e an

imal

or a

nim

al

prod

uct w

ith th

e co

nten

ts

labe

lled

as s

omet

hing

els

e.

Whe

n si

tes

fi nd

this

type

of

trad

e th

ey b

lock

the

mer

chan

ts

from

thei

r site

.•

Mac

hine

lear

ning

to u

se

auto

mat

ed p

rogr

ams

to lo

ok

for a

nim

al tr

ade

onlin

e.•

‘Elec

tric

nos

e’ de

vice

cre

ated

by

the

Uni

vers

ity o

f Tec

hnol

ogy

Sydn

ey C

ente

r for

For

ensi

c Sc

ienc

e in

Syd

ney

can

pick

up

the

scen

t of d

iff er

ent a

nim

als.

• N

ew E

ngla

nd A

quar

ium

is

cre

atin

g ‘Sm

art I

nvoi

ce’

tech

nolo

gy th

at h

as in

voic

es

and

ship

ping

info

go

thro

ugh

a co

mpu

ter t

o sp

ot p

ossi

ble

mis

cond

uct o

f mat

eria

ls g

oing

th

roug

h th

e m

ail.

• 20

15 U

nite

d Pa

rcel

Ser

vice

of

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es

will

not

shi

p an

y sh

ark

fi ns.

• 20

15 A

mer

ican

Ai

rline

s w

ill

not t

rans

port

sh

ark

fi ns.

• O

pini

ons

on le

gal

and

illeg

al e

xotic

pe

t tra

des

are

dive

rse.

On

one

side

an

indi

vidu

al

owne

r mig

ht

prov

ide

grea

t car

e an

d re

ally

val

ue

the

anim

al. O

n th

e ot

her s

ide,

taki

ng

anim

als

from

thei

r ha

bita

t dam

ages

ou

r eco

syst

ems

and

crea

tes

ince

ntiv

e to

co

mm

it cr

imes

.•

Twitt

er:

#exo

tican

imal

trad

e

• TR

AFFI

CTh

e w

ildlif

e tr

ade

mon

itorin

g ne

twor

k,

is th

e le

adin

g no

n-go

vern

men

tal

orga

niza

tion

wor

king

gl

obal

ly o

n tr

ade

in w

ild a

nim

als

and

plan

ts.

• W

orld

Wild

life

Fund

In o

ver 1

00 c

ount

ries

and

with

ove

r 5

mill

ion

mem

bers

th

is o

rgan

izat

ion

wor

ks to

pro

vide

in

form

atio

n an

d su

ppor

t in

wild

life

cons

erva

tion.

• En

viro

nmen

tal

Inve

stig

atio

n Ag

ency

Cond

uct u

nder

cove

r in

vest

igat

ions

into

tr

ansn

atio

nal

wild

life

crim

e.

U.S

. Fis

h an

d W

ildlif

e O

ffi c

er

I am

one

of a

bout

50

0 offi

cer

s in

th

e U

nite

d St

ates

th

at w

orks

on

fi ndi

ng a

nd

stop

ping

ille

gal

anim

al s

mug

glin

g.

The

illeg

al e

xotic

an

imal

trad

e is

a m

ulti-

billi

on d

olla

r ind

ustr

y an

d it

is th

e se

cond

larg

est i

llega

l tra

de a

fter i

llega

l dru

gs

and

wea

pons

. Our

rese

arch

sug

gest

s th

at a

bout

30

% o

f the

se s

ales

take

pla

ce in

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es.

We

have

less

than

500

offi

cers

, wor

k w

ith a

irpor

ts

and

bord

er c

ross

ings

, and

con

duct

und

erco

ver

oper

atio

ns. T

o m

ake

mat

ters

mor

e di

ffi cu

lt ab

out

25%

of o

ur d

epar

tmen

t can

be

pulle

d at

any

time

to w

ork

as fe

dera

l age

nts

to p

rote

ct d

ams

and

wat

erw

ays

from

pot

entia

l thr

eats

. Whe

n w

e do

ca

tch

smug

gler

s th

e pu

nish

men

ts a

re m

inim

al

com

pare

d to

dru

g or

gun

off e

nses

. How

can

we

mak

e ev

en a

den

t in

a tr

ade

that

enc

oura

ges

dam

age

to e

cosy

stem

s an

d w

ildlif

e po

pula

tions

?

Shar

k Re

sear

ch C

omm

itte

e M

embe

r

In o

rder

to

prot

ect s

hark

sp

ecie

s, I

join

ed th

e Sh

ark

Rese

arch

Co

mm

ittee

. W

e st

rive

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we

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aybe

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That

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peo

ple’s

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ire to

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ll sh

arks

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hat

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ake

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ans

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ks?

Solution

• How could you combine these ideas to create a new solution?

• What ideas do you have that are nothing like what you have researched? (Wild ideas are welcome!)

• Who will help your team solve this problem? Which organizations, governments, etc.?

• How do these ideas help solve the problem?

• What is needed to implement or enforce your solution?

Impact

Pick one of the following identities:

• Tour boat operator

• Scuba diver

• High school student

Based on one of the above identities think about how they will be impacted by your team’s solution to this problem.

• How will this person’s life change because of your solution?

• What would they think or say about your solution?

• How will this change impact someone with a similar identity that lives 2,000 miles away?

Brainstorm Notes

Problem

• Why is this a problem?

• What region(s) are we going to focus on?

• What other problems does it remind you of?

• Often larger problems need to be broken down into smaller pieces. What part(s) of this problem does your team want to address?

3 min

1 min

2 min

2 min

3 min

1 min

2 min

2 min

Listen and HelpSTEP 1

Team A presents their design solution.

• Team B cannot speak.

• Team B can take notes.

Team B writes questions.

• Quiet minute for thinking.

Team B asks clarifying questions.

• Team A can answer.

• Team A can take notes.

Team B provides feedback.

• Team A should take notes.

STEP 2

Team B presents their design solution.

• Team A cannot speak.

• Team A can take notes.

Team A writes questions.

• Quiet minute of thinking.

Team A asks clarifying questions.

• Team B can answer.

• Team B can take notes.

Team A provides feedback.

• Team B should take notes.

• What problem are you solving? Is it:

• Who will benefit from this solution?

• Can you explain how will help solve this problem?

• A question I have about your design solution is:

• One thing I like about your solution is:

• I think it is important that you include:

• I wonder what would happen if:

• I heard you say:

Giving Feedback to Other Teams

• We want feedback on specifically does it ?

• What is your favorite part of our solution?

• What is part of our solution that you think needs work?

Our solution

• The problem as we see it is:

• Our solution is to:

• We plan to tell a story about how our solution helped this person:

Requesting/Focusing Feedback

• Was the part about is easy for you to understand?

Sharing Our Solution

Pick a project:

• Business plan

• Advertising campaign

• Demo of potential device

• Slideshow

• Infographic

Project and presentation:

• Describe a focused problem

• Explain a solution to this problem

• Show how your solution will impact one person (tour boat operator,

scuba diver or high school student)

Design a Project and Presentation!

Notes

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