Merluccius albidus
Offshore Hake
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Gadiformes (Cod, Hakes and others)
Merlucciidae (Merlucciid Hakes)
Merluccius
Merluccius albidus (Offshore Hake)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Slender and fusiform body; acute, depressed snout; large mouth; distinct caudal fin; snout relatively long and slightly arched; mouth terminal, slightly oblique; teeth large, sharp, in two irregular rows in jaws; gill openings extend above pectoral fin base; gill rakers short, thick, with blunt tips, 8-11 on first arch; head length 27-32% SL; maximum body depth 17.5-20% SL; pectoral fin narrow-based, pointed, extends to anus, 12-17 rays; first dorsal fin short-based, triangular, 1 spine, 10-12 rays; second dorsal fin notched, 35-39 rays; anal fin similar to second dorsal fin, 35-41 rays; caudal fin emarginate (rounded in juveniles); scales relatively large, 104-119 along lateral line; vertebrae 51-55
Silvery white
Distribution
Western Atlantic from New England to northern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
Habitat Associations
80-1170 m depth, most common between 160-640 m
Biology
Feeds off the bottom at night on fishes (myctophids, clupeids, engraulids), crustaceans, and squids; juveniles feed mostly on shrimps
Maximum known size: 400 mm TL for males, 700 mm TL for females
Spawning takes place from late spring to early fall; fecundity up to 340,000 eggs
Offshore species which inhabit the outer part of the continental shelf and upper part of the slope. Feed at night when they come up towards the surface (Ref. 1371). Juveniles feed primarily on crustaceans (Ref. 58452). Adults' food consists primarily of fishes (particularly lantern fishes, sardines and anchovies) and, to a lesser extent, crustaceans and squids (Ref. 1371). Spawning occurs near the bottom at 330-550 m depth range from April to July in New England and from late spring to early autumn in the Gulf of Mexico and the Carribean Sea (Ref. 58452). Marketed fresh, frozen and smoked.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-01-29. Resilience: Medium (Assuming tmax > 3 and tm >=2; K=0.57; Fec=340,000).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial.
References
Ginsburg 1954
Karnella 1973
Rohr and Gutherz 1977
Vergara 1978
Inada 1981
Uyeno et al. 1983
Cohen et al. 1990
Boschung 1992
Cohen, D.M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto and N. Scialabba (1990) FAO species catalogue. Vol. 10. Gadiform fishes of the world (Order Gadiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cods, hakes, grenadiers and other gadiform fishes known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(10). Rome: FAO. 442 p.
Langton, R.W. and R.E. Bowman (1980) Food of fifteen northwest Atlantic Gadiform fishes. NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS SSRF-740, U.S. Department of Commerce.
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.) (1983) Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 p.
Bowman, R.E., C.E. Stillwell, W.L. Michaels and M.D. Grosslein (2000) Food of northwest Atlantic fishes and two common species of squid. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NE 155, 138 p.
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