Chilean Common Hake | Oceana
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Marine Life Encyclopedia

Ocean Fishes

Chilean Common Hake

Merluccius Gayi

Distribution

Tropical to temperate latitudes of the southeastern Pacific Ocean

ECOSYSTEM/HABITAT

Soft bottoms

FEEDING HABITS

Active predator

TAXONOMY

Order Gadiformes (cods and relatives), Family Merlucciidae (hakes)

Chilean common hake are generalist predators and eat a variety of benthic prey. They are known to eat squids, crustaceans, and other invertebrates and several species of bony fishes. Though they spend most of their lives associated with the seafloor, Chilean common hake sometimes hunt in the water column. Females have faster growth rates and reach larger sizes – at least 3.5 feet (over one meter) long. Males only reach about two thirds of the size of females.

There are significant genetic differences between the Chilean common hake that live off of Chile and those that live off of Peru. In fact, the populations distributed in each of these two locations are recognized as separate subspecies. The subspecies are separated by approximately five degrees of latitude where the species is not found. Some mixing between the two areas must occur, but it likely happens relatively rarely. This species reproduces through a behavior known as broadcast spawning, where several females release eggs and several males release sperm into the water column, all at the same time. This method increases the likelihood that eggs will become successfully fertilized and that fertilized eggs will not be eaten by egg predators near the seafloor.

The Chilean common hake is fished very heavily in both Peru and Chile. The conservation status of this species is currently unknown, but it is certainly overfished. Fishers are currently catching fewer individuals per unit effort than they did ten years ago, and the captured individuals are smaller. Furthermore, this species is targeted by gillnets, a fishing method that is known to accidentally capture several other non-target species. Without careful management of the Chilean common hake fishery, this species could be put at risk of endangerment or extinction before conservation scientists even have sufficient data to assess it.

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Additional Resources:

IUCN Red List

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