South Pacific Hake

Head length 26.0 to 32.4% of standard length. Measurements in relation to head length upper jaw 43.7 to 50.2%, snout length 29.3 to 34.1% and eye diameter 14.9 to 18.9%;

gill rakers long and slender with pointed tips, Total number on first arch 19 to 25 (mostly 19 to 23).

First dorsal fin with I spine and 9 to 12 rays; second dorsal with 36 to 42 rays; anal fin with 36 to 42 rays; tips of pectoral fins always reaching to or extending beyond level of anal fin origin, caudal fin margin usually concave.

Scales rather large, 106 to 130 along lateral line.

Total number of vertebrae 48 to 53.

Colour: silvery on back, silvery whitish on belly.

Two subspecies are recognized. The Peruvian population (M. gayi peruanus) is distributed off the coast of Peru from Paita (5°S) southward to Huarmey (around 14°), while the Chilean subspecies (M. gayi gayi) occurs off the coast of Chile from Arica (19°S) to the Chiloe Island (around 44°S).

Estimated maximum length: Peruvian subspecies 68 cm (males) and 115 cm (females), Chilean subspecies 87 cm; common to 50 cm for both subspecies.

Occurs from shallow continental shelf waters (around 50 m depth) to the upper continental slope down to around 500 m.Sometimes found off the bottom or in midwaters.Females grow faster than males and attain a much greater size. The main spawning period extends from August to March, with a peak in the southern spring (Peruvian subspecies), and from August to November (Chilean subspecies). The boundaries of the spawning ground of the Peruvian subspecies are estimated between 4°S and 8°S, while those of the Chilean subspecies are found in deep waters off Chile.

The Chilean subspecies are found in deep waters off Chile.The Chilean subspecies feeds on fishes, crustaceans and squids.

The Peruvian population has recently become an important target fish for distant-water fisheries (from the sixties onwards). On the other hand, the Chilean subspecies has been an important food for the Chilean population since the forties. The combined catch for both populations reported to FAO in 1987 totalled 64 286 t, of which 32 026 t were taken by Peru and 30 905 t by Chile. The yield of the fishery has decreased very considerably. Caught with artisanal purse-seines and trawls. Most common fishing techniques are "demersal bottom trawling" and "purse seining". The total catch reported for this species to FAO for 1999 was 141 053 t. The countries with the largest catches were Chile (103 789 t) and Peru (37 121 t). Marketed fresh and frozen and also used for fishmeal.

Merluccius gayi is a merluccid hake of the genus Merluccius, with two subspecies, the South Pacific hake or Chilean common hake (M. g. gayi) and the Peruvian hake (M. g. peruanus), found in the south-western Pacific Ocean, along the coast of South America, from Peru (Merluccius gayi peruanus) to the Chilean coasts north to the Chiloé Archipelago. During the Southern Hemisphere summer, it migrates southwards in shallow waters, while in the winter, it lives more to the north, in far deeper waters.

M. gayi is very similar to the European hake (Merluccius merluccius). They feed on crustaceans, cephalopods, and other fish.