Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus)

A member of the Merlucciidae family, the Pacific hake is sometimes classified as a member of the Gadidae family and thus included with codfish. It is the only representative of the hake family in the Pacific.

Common in commercial and sport catches because of its abundance, the Pacific hake is not generally sought for its food value, but it is made into fish meal. Because it does not remain fresh very long, once caught, it must be immediately chilled or the flesh becomes soft and undesirable. Many Pacific hake are caught incidentally by anglers fishing for salmon or bottom fish and are generally discarded.

Red Hake (Urophycis chuss)

Red hake are somewhat of an incidental catch for deep-water anglers and have become less significant to commercial trawlers. Although not considered overexploited, red hake are now caught commercially at much lower levels than previously.

Identification

The body of the red hake is elongate with two dorsal fins—the second one long—and one long anal fin. Its coloration is variable, but the sides are usually reddish and often dark or mottled. The fins are not dark-edged, as they are in some other hake, and the pelvic fin rays are shorter than those of other hake.

Silver Hake (Merluccius bilinearis)

A member of the Merlucciidae family, the silver hake is primarily known as whiting. An aggressive fish and a swift swimmer, it is a good species for sportfishing.

Identification

The body of the whiting is long and slender, with a flattened head, a large mouth, and strong, sharp teeth. The second dorsal fin and the anal fin are deeply indented, giving the fin a divided appearance. The first fin is short and high. Its coloring is dark gray above, with iridescent purple hues that fade to silvery white on the belly. It has only two dorsal fins and one anal fin and lacks a chin
barbel.