European hake (Merluccius merluccius)

Scientific name: Merluccius merluccius Linnaeus, 1758

European hake (Merluccius merluccius)

The European hake (Merluccius merluccius) is a marine fish of the family Merlucciidae. Native range: Eastern Atlantic, Norway and Iceland, southward to Mauritania. Also in the Mediterranean Sea and along the southern coast of the Black Sea.

Biology

Found usually between 70 and 370 m depth. Adults live close to the bottom during day-time, but move off-bottom at night. Adults feed mainly on fish (small hakes, anchovies, pilchard, herrings, cod fishes, sardines and gadoid species) and squids. The young feed on crustaceans (especially euphausiids and amphipods). Are batch spawners. Almost entirely marketed fresh, whole or filleted, to specialized restaurants or retail markets. Utilized fresh, dried or salted and frozen; can be steamed, fried, microwaved and baked. Stocks seem to be over-fished.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Merluccius merluccius
Family
Merlucciidae (Merluccid hakes)
Order
Gadiformes (Cods)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
140
Common length
45.0
Depth range
30–1075 m (98–3527 ft)
Environment
Marine; demersal; depth range 30 - 1075 m, usually 70 - 400 m
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic: Norway and Iceland, southward to Mauritania. Also in the Mediterranean Sea and along the southern coast of the Black Sea.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: highly commercial
Resilience
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.06-0.18; tm=2-8; tmax=20; Fec=2 million)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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