Silver hake

The silver hake, Atlantic hake, or New England hake (Merluccius bilinearis) is a merluccid hake of the genus Merluccius, found in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. It is highly predatory and typically feeds on fish and crustaceans.^[3]

Silver hake
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Gadiformes
Family:	Merlucciidae
Genus:	Merluccius
Species:	M. bilinearis
Binomial name
Merluccius bilinearis (Mitchill, 1814)
Synonyms[2]
Stomodon bilinearis Mitchill, 1814

Appearance

The silver hake is a long, thin species with a protruding lower jaw and two dorsal fins. This hake is named as such for its silvery coloring, while darker dorsally. They typically grow to be about 37 cm (15 in), but can reach a maximum length of 76 cm (30 in).^[3]

Occurrence

The silver hake typically inhabits relatively warm bottom waters, where temperatures are around 5–10 °C.^[4] The species is found in the northwest Atlantic Ocean at depths between 55 and 914 m (180 and 3,000 ft).^[3] It is found along the eastern coast of Canada and United States, as well as in the Bahamas, but it is most common between Newfoundland and South Carolina.^[3]