Where to get Oarfish, Gulper Eel, Goliath Tigerfish & Coelacanth in Dredge

After meeting the Travelling Merchant for the first time at the Dusty Pontoon in Dredge, she will ask you to give her four Exotic fish for the Recording Rarities Pursuit. It's hard work, but the reward is well worth it. Here's where to get Oarfish, Gulper Eel, Goliath Tigerfish, and Coelacanth in Dredge.

Where to find Oarfish, Gulper Eel, Goliath Tigerfish & Coelacanth in Dredge (Recording Rarities Pursuit Guide)

While you're given the Recording Rarities Pursuit reasonably early on in your seafaring adventure, it is a side quest you won't be able to complete until you've got a heavily-researched set of gear, which you need to unlock using Research Parts.

The four fish you need to catch are Exotic, which, in short, means they're the most difficult fish to find in the game, mainly because of what you need to do to unlock them. You get eight Research Parts for doing so, though, so it is worth the time and effort, especially if you're aiming for 100% completion.

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Here's where to find and catch the four Exotic fish—Oarfish, Gulper Eel, Goliath Tigerfish, and Coelacanth—in Dredge.

Oarfish location in Dredge

Requires: Abyssal fishing unlocked

In a cave behind the waterfall, the elusive Oarfish is found in Gale Cliffs, just north of where the Family Crest Relic is hidden. Go to where you dredged up the Relic earlier in the story (map coordinate P3), being careful to avoid the murderous sea monster along the way, and you'll spot the waterfall straight ahead. Sail through it, and you'll end up in a cavern.

Fish at the bubbling spot in the middle of the cave with an Abyssal Rod to pull up the Oarfish. There's also a chest to the right containing some sellable treasures if you have room in your Cargo. Return to the Travelling Merchant and hand her the Exotic fish to receive two Research Parts.

Gulper Eel location in Dredge

Requires: Hadal fishing unlocked

To fish for the Gulper Eel, you must have unlocked Hadal fishing. Once you have, go to the Stellar Basin, being careful not to sail into the middle of the area as a sea monster will attack your boat. Sail over to map coordinate F4, and you'll see a bubbling spot.

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Use your Hadal Rod to start fishing here, and when successful, you'll pull up the Gulper Eel. Return to the Travelling Merchant for two more Research Parts as a reward.

Goliath Tigerfish location in Dredge

Requires: Explosives and Mangrove fishing unlocked

You can catch the Goliath Tigerfish once you've gained access to Explosives and Mangrove fishing. Travel to the Twisted Strand in the top-left portion of the map and enter the maze here. Navigate to map coordinate E12 in the southwest, where a hollowed-out tree is blocking your path.

This is where the Explosives come into play: use them to blow up the tree. Go forward slightly, and you'll spy a bubbling spot. Use your Mangrove Rod here to fish up the Goliath Tigerfish, then return to the Travelling Merchant for two Research Parts.

Coelacanth location in Dredge

Requires: Explosives and Abyssal fishing unlocked

For the final Exotic fish, the Coelacanth, make your way over to Devil's Spine and then ride over to map coordinate P/Q12. You'll see some bombable debris here, which you need to use a set of Explosives on.

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Blow up the wall and row through the gap, where you'll see a bubbling spot. Use your Abyssal Rod here, and you'll catch the Coelacanth. Go back to the Travelling Merchant for the final time and show her the fish to get two Research Parts, for a total of eight.

How to unlock Abyssal fishing in Dredge

You need Abyssal fishing to catch the Oarfish and the Coelacanth. To unlock Abyssal fishing, you need to start the Collect All Samples Pursuit from the Research Assistant at the Old Fortress in the Stellar Basin, who tasks you with catching three types of fish: an Aurora Jellyfish, a Glowing Octopus, and a Firefly Squid. Check out our Dredge Research Assistant Samples: Where to get Aurora Jellyfish, Glowing Octopus & Firefly Squid in Dredge guide for a complete walkthrough.

With all three in hand, return to the Research Assistant, who will give you another task: find the Prototype Parts at her old Research Outpost. Get back in your boat and head southeast slightly to find it. Enter the building here and inspect the equipment on the table to find the Prototype Parts.

Bring them back to the Research Assistant, and she will give you the Sampling Device, which allows you to go Abyssal fishing and catch two of the Exotic fish.

How to unlock Hadal fishing in Dredge

With the Sampling Device unlocked, you can now get Hadal fishing. All you need for this is one Research Part, which you can get randomly from dredging spots, in chests found when exploring, by completing certain Pursuits, or from the Travelling Merchant for $300 apiece.

Once you have a Research Part, take your boat to Greater Marrow and navigate to the Research menu. Use your Research Part on the Bottomless Lines equipment in the Rods tab to unlock it at the Shipwright, then buy it for $405. Install Bottomless Lines in your Cargo, and you can go Hadal fishing and catch the Gulper Eel.

How to unlock Mangrove fishing in Dredge

You need Mangrove fishing to catch the Goliath Tigerfish. To do so, you must spend four Research Parts in the Rod tab of the Research menu: two on the Flexible Fishing Pole and two on the Anti-Tangle Line, which nets you Mangrove and Coastal fishing when equipped to your Cargo.

How to unlock Explosives in Dredge

While you need Abyssal and Mangrove fishing to catch the Goliath Tigerfish and the Coelacanth Exotic fish, you also need the Explosives. You get these through the main story after finding the Family Crest Relic in the Gale Cliffs. Give it to the Retired Whaler in Ingfell, who will eventually give you the Explosives, which you can now buy from him, and the Travelling Merchant whenever you run out.

For more information on Dredge, check out Is Dredge on Game Pass (Xbox or PC)? on Pro Game Guides.