Silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis) is a saltwater species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of 55–914 m.
Scientific name: Merluccius bilinearis · Water: Saltwater
Size: up to 76 cm
The silver hake is a demersal merlucciid that is abundant on sandy grounds and strays into shallower water, recorded from 55 to 914 m. It is a voracious predator with cannibalistic habits: individuals over 40 cm total length prey on fishes such as gadoids and herring, while smaller fish feed on crustaceans, namely euphausiids and pandalids, and the smallest specimens feed mostly on crustaceans. Its food also includes gaspereau, myctophids, smelt, silversides, mackerel, sand lance, butterfish, snakeblennies, longhorn sculpins and squid. It exhibits onshore-offshore migration. Its range is the north-west Atlantic, along the coast of Canada and the United States from the Bell Isle Channel to the Bahamas, most common from southern Newfoundland to South Carolina. Maximum length is about 76 cm total length, commonly about 37 cm, and it can live 12 years, maturing at about 23 cm. It is a highly commercial species and a gamefish, marketed fresh, smoked and frozen, with a low price category. Fishing vulnerability is moderate to high at 54 of 100 and resilience medium, and climate vulnerability is moderate to high at 47 of 100. IUCN lists it as near threatened.
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