Brown Pelican Favorite Fish — What to Serve in Scale the Depths

Brown Pelican appears in Huatulco and pays a favorite tip for Cortez Sea Chub. Cortez Sea Chub is Brown Pelican's signature — no other customer treats it as a favorite, so any Cortez Sea Chub you land has exactly one ideal buyer.

There are two versions of Brown Pelican. The base pays up to 275 (220 base + 55 tip); the rarer variant pays up to 412, a 137-coin jump for the same fish. A variant of Brown Pelican is always worth serving over the base when both are on screen — same catch, bigger payout.

Keep Scrawled Filefish away from Brown Pelican — it is the one fish that lowers its payout. Everything else is fair game as long as it fills the hunger of 340.

Cortez Sea Chub is caught in Huatulco — the same world where you meet Brown Pelican, so you can serve it fresh without backtracking. It has 40 health and a feed value of 82. Scale it cleanly to clear Brown Pelican’s favorite threshold and bank the 55-coin tip.

Full stats for every catch are in the fish almanac.

The brown pelican is a coastal seabird found along the shores of the Americas, particularly along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North and Central America. Pelicans are easily recognized by their long bills and large throat pouches, which they use to scoop fish and drain away water before swallowing their catch. Unlike most pelican species, the brown pelican feeds by plunge diving. It soars above the water before folding its wings and diving headfirst to catch fish just below the surface, using its expandable throat pouch to scoop up fish and water before draining the excess. Brown pelicans are highly social birds and are often seen flying low over the ocean in long lines or groups, skimming just above the waves. They usually nest in trees or shrubs near coastal waters, forming colonies on islands or quiet shorelines.

In-game species label: Pelecanus occidentalis