Aberrations

Aberrations are mutated variants of fish in DREDGE that are more difficult to find than their "normal" counterparts. They are described by the Fishmonger as 'corrupted', by the in-game text as 'grotesque', and are the first sign in the game that something is not right. The purple text box used in descriptions of Aberrated fish (same background color of inventory tiles for Aberrations, similar to Trophy fish) is described in the options as 'Important Color'. Aberrant Fish are worth significantly more than their normal counterparts.

Aberrant Fish can be found in patches of disturbed water, especially those that contain embers and a glowing blue distortion below them. It is implied that Aberrations are incubators of some sort (e.g. the Cyclopean Flounder 's embedded egg, the implications of the Brood Squid and Host Eel etc) Some aberrated fish also look like radioactively mutated animals (e.g. the Lumpy Mackerel and the Tusked Grouper), while others (e.g. the All-Seeing Cod, the Snag Squid and the Shard Ray) are simply strange.

84 out of 151 (55.63%) of the fish in the base game and 11 out of 23 (47.82%) of the fish in the Pale Reach DLC are Aberrations of other, normal fish. There are aberrant versions of all fish (including crabs) and, in The Iron Rig DLC, there are aberrations for the five Exotic Fish.

Encyclopaedia

Fish	Number	Image	Location	Type	Time	Aberration Of	Value per Slot	Rod	Trawl	Pot
Grotesque Mackerel	104		The Marrows		Day	Blue Mackerel	$15.00	Yes	Yes	No
Lumpy Mackerel	105		The Marrows		Day	Blue Mackerel	$17.50	Yes	Yes	No
Many-Eyed Mackerel	106		The Marrows		Day	Blue Mackerel	$20.00	Yes	Yes	No
All-Seeing Cod	107		The Marrows		Day	Cod	$16.67	Yes	Yes	No
Fanged Cod	108		The Marrows		Day	Cod	$20.00	Yes	Yes	No
Three-Headed Cod	109		The Marrows		Day	Cod	$23.33	Yes	Yes	No
Brood Squid	110		The Marrows		Night	Arrow Squid	$16.00	Yes	Yes	No
Snag Squid	111		The Marrows		Night	Arrow Squid	$19.00	Yes	Yes	No
Barbed Eel	112		The Marrows		Day	Grey Eel	$16.67	Yes	Yes	No
Host Eel	113		The Marrows		Day	Grey Eel	$20.00	Yes	Yes	No
Cyclopean Flounder	114		The Marrows		Day	Gulf Flounder	$15.00	Yes	Yes	No
Riddled Flounder	115		The Marrows		Day	Gulf Flounder	$17.50	Yes	Yes	No
Tusked Grouper	116		The Marrows		Night	Black Grouper	$21.25	Yes	Yes	No
Voltaic Grouper	117		The Marrows		Night	Black Grouper	$25.00	Yes	Yes	No
Shard Ray	118		The Marrows		Any	Stingray	$21.43	Yes	No	No
Sallow Sailfish	119		The Marrows		Day	Sailfish	$38.89	Yes	Yes	No
Hooked Sailfish	120		The Marrows		Day	Sailfish	$41.67	Yes	Yes	No
Bloodskin Shark	121		The Marrows		Day	Bronze Whaler	$36.67	Yes	Yes	No
Cleft-Mouth Shark	122		The Marrows		Night	Blacktip Reef Shark	$45.83	Yes	Yes	No
Plated Osteostracan	123		The Marrows		Any	Osteostracan	$20.00	Yes	No	No
Axial Matron	124		The Marrows		Any	Tullimonstrum	$22.86	Yes	No	No
Anvilfish	125		The Marrows		Any	Paddlefish	$22.50	Yes	No	No
Ivory Impaler	126		The Marrows		Any	Swordfish	$46.25	Yes	No	No
Cerebral Crab	127		The Marrows		Any	Common Crab	$15.00	No	No	Yes
Malignant Pincer	128		The Marrows		Any	Fiddler Crab	$14.00	No	No	Yes
Inverted Husk	129		The Marrows		Any	Sea Cucumber	$16.00	No	No	Yes
Gnashing Perch	130		Gale Cliffs		Day	Oceanic Perch	$17.00	Yes	Yes	No
Flayed Mackerel	131		Gale Cliffs		Day	Tiger Mackerel	$17.50	Yes	Yes	No
Bearded Mackerel	132		Gale Cliffs		Day	Tiger Mackerel	$22.50	Yes	Yes	No
Scouring Bass	133		Gale Cliffs		Night	Black Sea Bass	$17.50	Yes	Yes	No
Gelatinous Stonefish	134		Gale Cliffs		Day	Stonefish	$11.25	Yes	Yes	No
Enthralled Stonefish	135		Gale Cliffs		Day	Stonefish	$11.25	Yes	Yes	No
Decaying Blackmouth	136		Gale Cliffs		Day	Blackmouth Salmon	$16.67	Yes	Yes	No
Sprouting Eel	137		Gale Cliffs		Night	Conger Eel	$23.00	Yes	No	No
Withered Ray	138		Gale Cliffs		Night	Devil Ray	$15.00	Yes	Yes	No
Translucent Sturgeon	139		Gale Cliffs		Day	Sturgeon	$23.75	Yes	Yes	No
Shattered Wreckfish	140		Gale Cliffs		Day	Wreckfish	$20.00	Yes	No	No
Bony Wreckfish	141		Gale Cliffs		Day	Wreckfish	$23.33	Yes	No	No
Clutching Nautilus	142		Gale Cliffs		Any	Nautilus	$18.75	Yes	No	No
Vagrant Sollasina	143		Gale Cliffs		Any	Sollasina	$21.67	Yes	No	No
Bifurcated Gar	144		Gale Cliffs		Any	Abyssal Gar	$22.50	Yes	No	No
Silvering Lancetfish	145		Gale Cliffs		Any	Lancetfish	$31.25	Yes	No	No
Splintered Crab	146		Gale Cliffs		Any	Rock Crab	$12.50	No	No	Yes
Cortex Decorator	147		Gale Cliffs		Any	Decorator Crab	$15.00	No	No	Yes
Cystic Trilobite	148		Gale Cliffs		Any	Trilobite	$17.50	No	No	Yes
Parhelion Jellyfish	149		Stellar Basin		Night	Aurora Jellyfish	$6.25	No	Yes	No
Cursed Fangtooth	150		Stellar Basin		Any	Fangtooth	$24.00	Yes	No	No
Voideye	151		Stellar Basin		Any	Barreleye	$20.00	Yes	No	No
Radiant Squid	152		Stellar Basin		Night	Firefly Squid	$25.00	Yes	Yes	No
Blood Snapper	153		Stellar Basin		Day	Red Snapper	$15.00	Yes	Yes	No
Latching Snapper	154		Stellar Basin		Day	Red Snapper	$20.00	Yes	Yes	No
Ruptured Vessel	155		Stellar Basin		Any	Giant Amphipod	$30.00	Yes	No	No
Perished Loosejaw	156		Stellar Basin		Any	Loosejaw	$21.67	Yes	No	No
Calcified Snailfish	157		Stellar Basin		Any	Snailfish	$28.33	Yes	No	No
Seizing Snailfish	158		Stellar Basin		Any	Snailfish	$30.00	Yes	No	No
Consumed Grouper	159		Stellar Basin		Day	Coral Grouper	$20.00	Yes	No	No
Medusa Octopus	160		Stellar Basin		Night	Glowing Octopus	$23.75	Yes	No	Yes
Bursting Anglerfish	161		Stellar Basin		Any	Anglerfish	$22.00	Yes	No	No
Savage Barracuda	162		Stellar Basin		Day	Barracuda	$20.00	Yes	No	No
Concertina Barracuda	163		Stellar Basin		Day	Barracuda	$22.50	Yes	No	No
Gazing Shark	164		Stellar Basin		Any	Hammerhead Shark	$47.22	Yes	No	No
Xeno Xeno	165		Stellar Basin		Any	Mahi Mahi	$25.83	Yes	No	No
Stalking Spiderfish	166		Stellar Basin		Any	Tripod Spiderfish	$28.34	Yes	No	No
Drifting Chrysalis	167		Stellar Basin		Any	Kerygmachela	$23.34	Yes	No	No
Sanguine Shark	168		Stellar Basin		Any	Eagle Shark	$50.00	Yes	No	No
Crown of Nadir	169		Stellar Basin		Any	Crown of Thorns	$17.78	No	No	Yes
Entangled Crab	170		Stellar Basin		Any	Blue Crab	$15.00	No	No	Yes
Imperious Lobster	171		Stellar Basin		Any	Spiny Lobster	$15.00	No	No	Yes
Mimic Slug	172		Stellar Basin		Any	Sea Slug	$18.00	No	No	Yes
Entwined Mullet	173		Twisted Strand		Any	Grey Mullet	$15.00	Yes	Yes	No
Gleaming Mullet	174		Twisted Strand		Any	Grey Mullet	$22.50	Yes	Yes	No
Blistered Tarpon	175		Twisted Strand		Any	Tarpon	$20.00	Yes	Yes	No
Vortex Interloper	176		Twisted Strand		Day	Sergeant Fish	$23.33	Yes	Yes	No
Clawfin Gar	177		Twisted Strand		Day	Gar	$25.00	Yes	Yes	No
Grinning Gar	178		Twisted Strand		Day	Gar	$27.50	Yes	Yes	No
Twinned Eels	179		Twisted Strand		Night	Longfin Eel	$31.00	Yes	No	No
Nightwing Catfish	180		Twisted Strand		Night	Catfish	$30.00	Yes	Yes	No
Crawling Instar	181		Twisted Strand		Any	Opabinia	$20.00	Yes	No	No
Boreal Shell	182		Twisted Strand		Any	Boreaspis	$18.34	Yes	No	No
Broken Arapaima	183		Twisted Strand		Any	Arapaima	$36.43	Yes	No	No
Primordial Shadow	184		Twisted Strand		Any	Xiphactinus	$48.12	Yes	No	No
Effigy Crab	185		Twisted Strand		Any	Horseshoe Crab	$12.50	No	No	Yes
Mire Screecher	186		Twisted Strand		Any	Giant Mud Crab	$16.67	No	No	Yes
Wretched Nipper	187		Twisted Strand		Any	Nipponites	$20.00	Yes	No	No
Ossified Searobin	188		Devil's Spine		Day	Armored Searobin	$18.33	Yes	Yes	No
Infernal Eel	189		Devil's Spine		Night	Cusk Eel	$26.67	Yes	Yes	No
Serpentine Mackerel	190		Devil's Spine		Any	Snake Mackerel	$16.67	Yes	Yes	No
Tattered Mackerel	191		Devil's Spine		Any	Snake Mackerel	$20.00	Yes	Yes	No
Defaced Skate	192		Devil's Spine		Day	Pale Skate	$27.00	Yes	Yes	No
Rapt Shark	193		Devil's Spine		Any	Ghost Shark	$30.00	Yes	No	No
Twisted Shark	194		Devil's Spine		Any	Frilled Shark	$50.00	Yes	No	No
Unveiled Vetulicolia	195		Devil's Spine		Any	Vetulicolia	$40.00	Yes	No	No
Plated Barbjaw	196		Devil's Spine		Any	Sawfish	$45.00	Yes	No	No
Untouchable Wyrmfish	197		Devil's Spine		Any	Giant Dragonfish	$32.50	Yes	No	No
Excoriated Fiend	198		Devil's Spine		Any	Dunkleosteus	$52.50	Yes	No	No
Grasping Snail	199		Devil's Spine		Any	Volcano Snail	$16.00	No	No	Yes
Sable Reacher	200		Devil's Spine		Any	Squat Lobster	$20.00	No	No	Yes
Umbral Puppet	201		Devil's Spine		Any	Spider Crab	$19.29	No	No	Yes
Erupting Scorpion	202		Devil's Spine		Any	Sea Scorpion	$20.00	No	No	Yes
Anchovy King	203		Open Ocean		Any	Anchovy	$18.00	No	Yes	No
Leeching Prawn	204		Open Ocean		Any	Scarlet Prawn	$15.00	No	Yes	Yes
Razormouth Tuna	205		Open Ocean		Any	Blackfin Tuna	$25.00	Yes	Yes	No
Decrepit Viperfish	206		Open Ocean		Any	Viperfish	$20.00	Yes	No	No
Collapsed Viperfish	207		Open Ocean		Any	Viperfish	$10.00	Yes	No	No
Skeletal Moonfish	208		Open Ocean		Night	Moonfish	$27.50	Yes	No	No
Beaked Moonfish	209		Open Ocean		Night	Moonfish	$31.25	Yes	No	No
Congealed Rattail	210		Open Ocean		Any	Rattail	$26.00	Yes	No	No
Charred Sunfish	211		Open Ocean		Day	Ocean Sunfish	$30.56	Yes	No	No
Glaring Sunfish	212		Open Ocean		Day	Ocean Sunfish	$33.33	Yes	No	No
Fractalline Icefish	213		The Pale Reach		Any	Icefish	$17.50	Yes	Yes	No
Thawed Icefish	214		The Pale Reach		Any	Icefish	$22.50	Yes	Yes	No
Astral Icefish	215		The Pale Reach		Any	Icefish	$27.50	Yes	Yes	No
Bubbling Char	216		The Pale Reach		Any	Char	$14.67	Yes	No	No
Hinged Wolffish	217		The Pale Reach		Night	Wolffish	$20.00	Yes	No	No
Craterous Seer	218		The Pale Reach		Any	Stargazer	$18.75	No	Yes	No
Feral Lizardfish	219		The Pale Reach		Any	Lizardfish	$24.00	Yes	Yes	No
Bulbous Toothfish	220		The Pale Reach		Any	Toothfish	$23.33	Yes	No	No
Grisly Shark	221		The Pale Reach		Any	Goblin Shark	$37.00	Yes	No	No
Pale Grasper	222		The Pale Reach		Any	Colossal Squid	$45.45	No	Yes	No
Fallen Stars	223		The Pale Reach		Any	Sea Stars	$20.00	No	No	Yes
King's Wreath	224		The Pale Reach		Any	King Crab	$21.25	No	No	Yes
Archon's Burden	225		Gale Cliffs		Any	Oarfish	$100	Yes	No	No
Famine's End	226		Stellar Basin		Any	Gulper Eel	$100	Yes	No	No
Brute's Crux	227		Twisted Strand		Any	Goliath Tigerfish	$87.5	Yes	No	No
Shaper's Prime	228		Devil's Spine		Any	Coelacanth	$100	Yes	No	No
Sleeper's Torment	229		The Pale Reach		Any	Sleeper Shark	$140	Yes	No	No

Catching Strategies

Trying to catch Grotesque Fish from non-glowing, disturbed water can be irritating (glowing water will always contain an Aberration; you just have to fish it up), due to the low chance of success and the requirement to perform the catching minigame perfectly. However, leaving the fishing minigame after making a mistake allows you another opportunity to catch an aberrated fish.

This info is especially useful while trying to fill the encyclopaedia, as certain fish spawn in a few locations with only 1-2 fish per disturbed water patch (e.g. Devil Rays, Hammerhead Sharks, etc.).

Additionally, Atrophy will almost always generate an aberration. While the cooldown is long, using Atrophy will highly Increase the chance of getting an aberration out of any fishing spot that you like, given that your target species has an aberration. This is especially useful for hard-to-find species such as the Moonfish.

Pursuits

Main Article: Pursuits

The pursuit Grotesque Fish has you bring an Aberration (no matter which) to the Fishmonger. He slits it open and finds the handkerchief, which he gives to you (this unlocks the Collector's mission). The pursuit Caught to Order involves giving another Aberrated fish to the Fishmonger, and it is implied he eats it. Afterwards, he doesn't feel well but seems to be fine as usual in later days.

Achievements

Main Article: Achievements

Aberration Attractor

Catch all Aberrations

Cold Corruptions

Catch all aberrations in The Pale Reach.

Primordial Deviations

Catch all aberrations in The Iron Rig (excluding exotics)

Exotic Exemplar

Catch any exotic aberration.

Trivia

13 aberrations could be found in the demo: 3 for the Blue Mackerel (Grotesque Mackerel, Lumpy Mackerel and Many-Eyed Mackerel), 3 for the Cod (All-Seeing Cod, Fanged Cod and Three-Headed Cod), 2 for the Grey Eel (Barbed Eel and Host Eel), 2 for the Gulf Flounder (Cyclopean Flounder and Riddled Flounder), 2 for the Arrow Squid (Snag Squid and Brood Squid), 2 for the Black Grouper (Tusked Grouper and Voltaic Grouper) and 1 for the Stingray (Shard Ray).