Hake
Hake - Image courtesy of Seafish Public Media Library
European Hake - Scientific name - Merluccius merluccius
Conservation status
European Hake is found in the eastern Atlantic from Norway and Iceland, south to Mauritania, including the Mediterranean. It is fished off the Cornish and Southern Irish coasts.
The IUCN assess the fish as Least Concern and comment that in many areas of the Atlantic stocks have increased. They have concerns over the Mediterranean and report: ‘this species is considered to be overfished throughout the Mediterranean’.
In general Hake is vulnerable to overfishing because it grows slowly and females attain sexual maturity at an older age.
The Cornwall Good Sea Food Guide mention: ‘Hake stocks are within sustainable limits but have begun to decline in recent years’. To reduce bycatch they use ‘pingers’ on their nets to scare dolphins and other cetaceans away.
The Cornish hake gill net fishery was certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council in 2015.
Overview
The European Hake is a slender, cod-like fish with a large head and mouth. It is dark blue or grey-blue in colour with a silvery-grey or white belly. They tend to grow to around 100cms and live for around 10 years.
They live between 70 and 370 metres deep in the sea, preferring to remain on the ocean bed in the day and becoming more active in night. They have been found inshore in depths of 30 metres.
Hake tend to eat crustaceans when they are young, moving onto larger fish such as mackerel, herring and garfish in adulthood.
They are prey to Humboldt squids, sea lions, dolphins, dogfish sharks and of course humans.
Sources
IUCN - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/198562/84946555
Cornwall Good Sea Food Guide - https://www.cornwallgoodseafoodguide.org.uk/fish-guide/hake.php
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merluccius_merluccius