Red hake (Urophycis chuss) is a saltwater species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of 35–1152 m.
Scientific name: Urophycis chuss · Water: Saltwater
Size: up to 66 cm
The red hake is a demersal phycid found on soft muddy and sandy bottoms but never on rocks, gravel or shells, preferring temperatures of 8 to 10 degrees Celsius. Juveniles live along the coasts at shallow depths of 4 to 6 m, sheltering in scallops and remaining close to scallop beds until they mature, while adults migrate to deeper waters, generally between 110 and 130 m and in some instances to over 550 m. It is recorded from 35 to 1,152 m. It feeds on shrimps, amphipods and other crustaceans as well as on squid, herring, flatfish and mackerel, and small fish are used for fishmeal. Its range is the north-west Atlantic, from North Carolina to southern Nova Scotia, straying to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and rare European records are probably misidentifications. Maximum length is about 66 cm total length, and it matures at about 26 cm. It is a commercial species and a gamefish, utilized fresh, dried or salted and frozen, with a low price category. Fishing vulnerability is moderate to high at 51 of 100 and resilience medium, and climate vulnerability is moderate to high at 52 of 100; no IUCN assessment is recorded for it.
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