In general I feel the vision for FSH has some compatibility issues with what is an interesting gaming experience VS what can functionally work in a user-friendly MMO where some enjoyability is afforded while simultaneously working towards some kind of virtual goal.

There is a fishing class all about going out there with your bait and your wits and maybe some hints from your angler friends about where to go on your journey to complete your fishing log and conquering the seas of Hydaelyn and perhaps worlds unexplored.

Then there is also the fishing class who just wants to get their custom deliveries done in roughly the same time frame as a miner or goldsmith would.

These are very different domains with very different design needs that they have been struggling to rectify. As it stands, whenever the game asks you to get a specific fish, you basically need 2-3 browser tabs to know the who, what, where, why, and how. You need a specific bait, in a specific place, a specific tug to look for, often specific weather, sometimes even with specific buffs you in turn only get by catching other specific fish. As someone who loves fishing in videogames I find FFXIV to have one of the most cumbersome implementations I have seen. Again, I think at least some of this is OK if we are talking about a completionist system (though even then some of the ideas are terrible), though they have had to really scale things back over time. I think universal baits is a good start in making FSH more accessible.

One (expensive) change I'd like to see them do is consider making fish generic like a lot of games have it, or honestly just how cooking often works IRL. I don't mean getting rid of fish, but changing the game so similar fish can sometimes be used in similar ways. So like, when I cook IRL, I can use a variety of different salmon as long as I understand their nuance. Doesn't really matter which kind I get. This is also how a lot of games work, like asking for "poultry" or "shrimp" for a recipe even if more specific ingredients exist.

Higher level would mean more quality, but for the most part for cooking and aquariums, you shouldn't need to find a specific kind of fish that for some reason is the only one that works with a recipe even though there are several that look exactly like it and no known toxic properties. I still think endgame collectables and master recipes should demand specific kind but for those who just want to fill an aquarium or start levelling CUL we should give them a break.

As it stands it feels like they add loads and loads and loads of fish every expansion and a lot of them are useless. Even when you get past the ones with no levequest and no recipe and no aquarium usage, they are so dang specific that there can't be something worse for a retainer to bring back or to dreg up trying to do your custom deliveries.

Lastly I'd also like to see if maybe some of the actions for spearfishing and angling can be unified.