The Carrot is a special lure in How to Fish that exists for one purpose. Equip it, cast your line, and it summons the Pufferfish Boss on Desert Island (Island 3). You cannot buy it, and no standard or boss lure replaces it. It comes only from the Tourist NPC, and only after you hand him a fish with the right label.
Quick answer: Catch any fish on Desert Island with the pink Standard Lure, check the inventory for the Endangered Species tag, then give that fish to the Tourist sitting under a palm tree. He hands you a Carrot in return.
What you need before starting
The Carrot request only appears once you have reached Desert Island by completing the Giant Piranha fight on Forest Island. On Desert Island, the Standard Lure is the tool for every normal catch, and it is also what you use to find an endangered fish.
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Desert Island (Island 3) |
| Lure | Pink Standard Lure |
| Quest giver | Tourist NPC seated at the base of a palm tree |
| Item to hand over | Any fish tagged as an Endangered Species |
| Reward | One Carrot per endangered fish given |
What counts as an endangered fish
The Tourist asks for an “endangered creature,” not one specific species. This is the part players tend to overthink. There is no single hidden fish and no special “Endangered Bait” to buy. Any fish you pull from Desert Island waters has a chance to carry the Endangered Species status, and any fish with that tag satisfies the request.
Inspect each catch in your inventory before you sell, cook, or eat it. Rarity, difficulty, and Drip variants do not matter here. The only thing that counts is the endangered label. Needlefish and Seahorse, both caught with the Standard Lure, are confirmed to appear as endangered catches, but they are examples rather than the only valid answers.
Tip: The moment a catch shows the endangered tag, treat it as a quest item. Do not cook it, sell it, or eat it for hunger, or you will have to fish for another one.
How to get the Carrot from the Tourist
Receiving the Carrot is the confirmation that this step is complete. Once it is in your inventory, you no longer need to bring the Tourist any more endangered fish for progression.
How to use the Carrot to summon the Pufferfish Boss
Equip the Carrot as your main lure and cast your line. Every use of the Carrot Lure has a 100% chance to spawn the Pufferfish Boss, so you do not need to fish repeatedly to trigger it.
The Pufferfish is aggressive and rolls at you like a wrecking ball, so the fight rewards distance and steady damage.
- Use a ranged weapon. The SMG works best, but any ranged weapon does the job.
- Keep your distance and lure the boss toward the palm trees to slow its movement while you keep firing.
- Avoid the purple poison, and finish the Pufferfish before the white bar beneath its health bar empties, or it escapes.
When the Pufferfish dies, it drops several items. Pick up the Pufferfish Fin and give it to the Tourist. He then provides the coordinates for Rocks Island (Island 4), which advances the main story.
If the Tourist won’t accept your fish
If handing over a fish does nothing, the quest is not bugged. Inspect the catch again and confirm it actually carries the Endangered Species tag. A rare-looking fish, a hard catch, or a Drip variant is not automatically valid, and a species name that worked for another player does not help if your own fish lacks the label. If the tag is missing, keep fishing until an endangered catch appears, then bring that one to the Tourist intact.
Once you have the Carrot and the Pufferfish Fin in hand, Desert Island is effectively cleared, and the route to Rocks Island opens for the next leg of the journey.
