Fish: research unlocks, Nassau Grouper and donations

Fish cannot be sold through the Shipping Bin. They unlock equipment through Research Stations and fill Fish Repopulation contribution bins in the Hanging Gardens. Check the required species before donating a catch: a research set and a current contribution request can need the same fish for different rewards.

Start with Kassim

After A Call From the Gardens, continue Fish Are Friends. Craft the Collector Rod, show it to Kassim, catch three fish and report back. Field Research then asks for a completed Research Station bundle.

Fish sets with useful rewards

Central Lake bundle	Fish	Reward
Anadromous Odyssey	Allis Shad, Atlantic Salmon, Atlantic Sturgeon, Rainbow Trout	Project Station Lv.2 recipe
Heavy-Weight Titans	Seventyfour Seabream, Nassau Grouper, Giant Sea Bass, Southern Bluefin Tuna	Hammer Lv.2 recipe
Murky Waters	Spring Pygmy Sunfish, Dalhousie Catfish, Moapa Dace, Red Handfish	Pruners Lv.2 recipe

Completing a page also has its own reward. The first Central Lake page awards the Refining Station Lv.2 recipe. Claim that reward as well as the individual bundle reward before returning to craft an upgrade.

Nassau Grouper and fishing areas

Nassau Grouper belongs to Central Lake and its deeper fishing areas in the Hanging Gardens. It is part of Heavy-Weight Titans, so missing it can hold up the Hammer Lv.2 recipe even when the earlier fish set is complete.

The Murky Waters fish come from the Overgrowth pool instead. The Grove has a different set, including Japanese Spiky Sea Cucumber, Bahia Brain Coral, Ivell’s Sea Anemone and Sunflower Sea Star. Changing area is useful when the missing species belongs to another pool; repeatedly fishing the wrong pool cannot complete that set.

Patch #2 makes uncommon fish more common and rare fish rarer, removes several rare City Hills fishing spots and fixes a misplaced Bamboo Forest fish. Old routes and old catch-rate impressions may therefore differ from the current version.

Clear spare fish without losing an unlock

Catch	What to do with it
Needed by your next research bundle	Keep the required species for that permanent recipe unlock before donating surplus.
Requested by an active Fish Repopulation bin	Hand in the requested fish for Sols. This is a donation reward, not a Dew sale.
Not needed by your next bundle or current bin	Share with a player completing that set, or retain only the stock you want to carry. A bin does not accept every species at once.

For Dew, use shippable cooked dishes such as the Fruit Smoothies in the early Dew route. Fish Repopulation pays a different currency.

Donate surplus fish deliberately

Fish Repopulation contribution bins have changing requests and award Sols. The weekly effort affects the availability of uncommon and rare fishing spots in the Hanging Gardens. Read the active bin before bringing a large collection of fish; every species is not requested at once.

Keep fish needed for a near-term tool bundle, then use the contribution requests for surplus catches. Players also share unwanted fish with others completing sets. Your research plan determines whether a scarce catch is more useful in a permanent unlock or a current donation.