With a recipe for success that combines elements of a restaurant simulator and an underwater adventure game,Dave The Diverhas caused a splash in the gaming community as one of the brightest indie stars in 2023. Players control the title character, Dave, as he dives into an ever-changing sea by day to catch marine life to serve in a sushi restaurant with stern chef Bancho by night.
Dave The Diverfeatures an incredible array of underwater creatures from all corners of the earth, each providing their own challenges and contributing their own recipes for the restaurant. The fish vary in size, quantity, and value, and are situated across multiple levels of water depth and temperature. Of the 100+ fish species in the game, which are the best for Dave to bring to the surface?
Updated on Jul 22, 2025, by Alexandra O’Leary:Dave the Diver took the world by storm when it was released in 2023, and for good reason. This fun and laid-back game combines a range of genres to make an insanely fun diving sim, where there’s a lot more than meets the eye. While diving is the central part of the game, the next most important aspect is successfully running Bancho Sushi during the night. Keeping this sushi restaurant afloat is no easy task, and knowing which fish to prioritize when exploring the Blue Hole is a huge advantage. While some fish fetch a pretty penny when crafted into high-quality dishes, others rate high on the taste scale or are important elements of a larger dish. Players might prefer to focus on plentiful schools of fish, while others are after rare and exciting new ingredients. Whatever players are after, there’s a fish available to meet their criteria.
16Atlantic Anglerfish
Big Money Dish
These ugly little fish can be found in the Limestone Cave, which often spawns at Medium Depth in the Blue Hole. The distinct bulb on their head will make them easy to spot, plus Dave will aggro them if he gets too close - meaning players will have a hard time avoiding them.
Despite their aggressive nature and unappealing exterior, Atlantic Anglerfish spawn very reliably in the Limestone Cave and can be used in two main dishes. On its own, this fish makes Atlantic Anglerfish Sushi, which caps out at level ten with a price of 122g. However, if players venture to the Glacial Seaweed Cave (unlocked by completing ‘Trapped in the Glacial Cave’), combining this fish with Hyalonema seaweed and soy sauce will make Steamed Hyalonema Angler Fish, which sells for a maximum price of 1200g.
15Starry Puffer
Great Dish Range and Easy to Find
These prickly pufferfish may seem difficult to catch, but with the right tactics, they can be Dave’s way to fame and fortune. Approaching a Pufferfish will make it puff up, meaning it’s impervious to Dave’s weapons and hook, and will damage him if he gets too close. Pufferfish also deal poison damage, so avoiding their spikes is definitely the priority.
One of the main benefits of the Starry Puffer is the range of dishes available. There are three Starry Puffer dishes, and all of them bring a good base price. Stellate Puffer Special Sushi has a base price of 220g, which maxes out at 814g, while Stellate Puffer Nicogori has a base price of 180g and a maximum price of 666g. The prizewinning Starry Puffer dish, however, is Pufferfish Dumpling Soup, which starts at 420g and can be upgraded to sell for a whopping 1554g. These spiky swimmers also have a low chance of dropping a Poison Sack, which can be used to upgrade poison weapons.
14Greenland Shark
Slower Shark with Good Dish Price
Greenland Sharks can be found towards the bottom of the Glacial Area, accessible after progressing the Sea People storyline. These huge sharks are much slower than super aggressive ones like a Thresher Shark, making them an easier target for Dave. They drop two 20kg chunks of meat, which means it’s a low-risk, high-reward choice.
The Greenland Shark is one of the best single-ingredient sushi in the game. Greenland Shark Sushi starts at a base price of 186g, and while it’s only used in that one dish, it maxes out at 688g. For a single ingredient, 688g is a great profit. Plus, if players wait until the Shark Party to put this dish on the menu, they’ll make a killing. At level ten, this dish has a taste score of 370, another reason that it’s one of the most simple but successful choices in the whole game.
13Titan Triggerfish
Commonly Found And Easy To Defeat
While they provide somewhat of a challenge in the early stages ofDave The Diver, the Titan Triggerfish will no doubt become a staple for Bancho’s restaurant as the game progresses. This great yellow fish is aggressive and will approach Dave to attack him, however, once he is leveled up the Triggerfish won’t be considered a threat.
While the Triggerfish’s meat does not produce the highest taste qualityor the most expensivedish, it is still a reliable source of income for the restaurant. As a fish that is easy to capture on account of its slow movement, players can almost guarantee they will find one within the first 100 meters of their dive.
Easy To Obtain And Produces Two Loads Of Meat
The Green Humphead Parrotfish is likely the first big fish players will come across, and there’s one big difference between some big and small fish. When Dave swims near the Parrotfish, it won’t scurry away like most other fish. While it will still flee, it’s significantly slower, which means Dave can land a few melee hits.
It’s also not an aggressive fish, so it won’t deal any damage. This makes it easy to defeat, and the main benefit is that it drops two loads of meat. These ingredients weigh 1.8kg each, which takes up a lot of room early on but will eventually be one of the lower weights for a big fish. It’s twice the meat for half the effort of taking down a shark or aggressive big fish, making it a great early game choice and a reliable source of food for the shallows.
11Great Barracuda
Reliable Fish For Good Value Dishes
Another aggressive shallow-dwelling fish, the Great Barracuda is also a challenge for newer players and a nuisance for more experienced ones. They delve deeper into the water than Titan Triggerfish, but will still produce meat sufficient for a good-tasting and high-value dish to establish as one of Bancho’s staples.
For newer players, the trick to catching a Barracuda is to simply keep enough distance and be prepared for its charge. They do not have the agility of some of the other bigger fish, so they should be easily dispatched after a few well-placed shots with a harpoon or gun.
10Longnose Sawshark
Easy Choice For Early Game Shark Meat
One of the first sharks most players will encounter is the Longnose Sawshark, which is a freaky-looking shark with brown tiger stripes on its body. This frightening foe will very reliably show up around 50m down and is one of the more commonly appearing sharks in the game.
Like most other big fish, it will drop two lots of Longnose Sawshark meat, which makes it a worthwhile fight when Dave is focusing on getting ingredients for the sushi restaurant. The only dish it’s used for is Longnose Sawshark Sushi, but that fetches a relatively high base price of 35 gold and caps out at 129 gold at level ten - which shouldn’t be hard to reach since players will come across this shark very often in the mid-shallows.
9Megamouth Shark
Drops Lots Of Meat With High Value
Despite its size and relatively slow movement, the Megamouth Shark can be a player’s worst nightmare if ill-equipped or running low on oxygen. What they lack in agility they make up for by unhinging its large jaw and vacuuming the water in front of them. If Daveis too close to the sharkwhen this happens, he becomes their lunch.
Megamouth Sharks are one of the larger beasts dwelling in the deeper waters and will yield a significant amount of meat, which also happens to be of fairly significant value. As the game progresses, the Megamouth Shark’s meat can replace some of the lower-value fish as the go-to dish to ensure the cheapest item on the menu still contributes to the restaurant’s profit efficiently.
8Sheepshead
Big Fish Used In A High-Value Dish
As players progress in the game, they’ll start to notice that the sea will occasionally change and spawn certain areas or fish that aren’t typically around. The Sheepshead fish is one of these, and it only spawns in the special seaweed biome, which can be rare to come across. That means if players do find a Sheepshead swimming around, which is a very large and distinct fish, they should be sure to grab it.
Sheepshead are as big as a Parrothead but more aggressive, and they’ll ram Dave as he tries to defeat it. Luckily, it also moves as slowly as a Sheepshead so it doesn’t pose too much of a threat once players are aware it will deal damage. Like most other big fish, it will drop two chunks of meat. Standard Sheepshead sushi isn’t worth much, so players are better off holding onto the meat and waiting until they unlock the Boiled Asian Sheepshead Wrasse & Truffle dish. This dish is unlocked after certain events in the game and sells for a high price - starting at 755 gold and capping out at level 5 for over a thousand gold.
7Thresher Shark
High Quality For Shallow Water
Perhaps one of the most difficult fish to battle and escape, the Thresher Shark is easily recognized by its long, whip-like tail. While it is smaller than some of the other sharks in the more shallow waters inDave The Diver, it is an incredibly effective predator due to its ability to cover ground better than any other fish to catch its prey.
For those who can overcome the Thresher Shark, the meat it provides is some of the best quality in the shallow water, and customers will be willing to pay good money for it.It is a tricky fish to overcome. However, using sensor bombs or nets will swing the odds in the player’s favor.
