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Merluccius bilinearis  (Mitchill, 1814)

Silver hake
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Merluccius bilinearis
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United States (contiguous states) country information

Common names: Atlantic hake, Hake, New England hake
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: abundant (always seen in some numbers) | Ref: Frimodt, C., 1995
Importance: commercial | Ref: FAO, 1992
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Present in Middle Atlantic, Southern New England Georges Bank, Gulf of Maine, Scotian Shelf,, and inshore norths of Cape Hatteras (Ref. 37512). Also Ref. 58452.
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
National Fisheries Authority: https://www.nmfs.gov
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Cohen, D.M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto and N. Scialabba, 1990
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Gadiformes (Cods) > Merlucciidae (Merluccid hakes) > Merlucciinae
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Хек серебристый (=мерлуза серебристая), Merlu argenté, Merluza norteamericana, ... more

Main reference

Cohen, D.M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto and N. Scialabba. 1990. (Ref. 1371)
 References | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 76.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); common length : 37.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); common length :65 cm TL (female); max. published weight: 2.3 kg (Ref. 1371); max. reported age: 12 years (Ref. 1371)

Length at first maturity
 Lm 23.2  range ? - ? cm

Environment

Marine; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 55 - 914 m (Ref. 58452)

Climate / Range

Temperate, preferred 7°C (Ref. 107945); 55°N - 24°N, 80°W - 42°W (Ref. 54581)

Distribution

Northwest Atlantic: coast of Canada and USA from Bell Isle Channel to the Bahamas; most common from southern Newfoundland to South Carolina.
 Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 47-54; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 37 - 41. Head large, about 30% of SL . Pectoral fins long, reaching origin of anal fin. Overall color is silvery, somewhat brownish on back, whitish on belly.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Abundant on sandy grounds and strays into shallower waters. A voracious predator with cannibalistic habits. Individuals over 40 cm TL prey on fishes such as gadoids and herring, while smaller ones feed on crustaceans, i.e. euphausiids and pandalids; food also includes gaspereau, myctophids, smelt, silversides, mackerel, sand lance, butterfish, snakeblennies, longhorn sculpins and squids (Ref. 5951). The smallest specimen feeds mostly on crustaceans (Ref. 58452). Exhibits seasonal onshore-offshore migration (Ref. 9988). Spawning takes place from June-July in the mid-Atlantic region; July-August in the Gulf of Maine and to the north of Georges Bank, and August-September on the Scotian Shelf (Ref. 58452). Marketed fresh, smoked and frozen; fresh fish are exported to European markets; eaten fried, broiled, microwaved and baked (Ref. 9988).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

  Near Threatened (NT) 

Threat to humans

  Harmless



Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

BHL | Check for other websites | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO(fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | PubMed | Scirus | Sea Around Us | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | uBio RSS | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record | Fishtrace

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
 PD50 = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
 4.5   ±0.4 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
 Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.18-0.4;tm=2-3; tmax=12)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
 Moderate to high vulnerability (54 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
 Low