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Merluccius australis  (Hutton, 1872)

Southern hake
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Merluccius australis
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Chile country information

Common names: Maltona, Merluza austral, Merluza del sur
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: commercial | Ref: FAO, 1992
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Occurs in the Patagonian region, in 40°S it is found between 62 and 800 m (Ref. 27363). Also Ref. 8984, 58452.
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/ci.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Cohen, D.M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto and N. Scialabba, 1990
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Gadiformes (Cods) > Merlucciidae (Merluccid hakes) > Merlucciinae
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Main reference

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 155 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 58452); common length : 80.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); max. reported age: 30 years (Ref. 9072)

Length at first maturity
Lm 80.0, range 75 - 85 cm

Environment

Marine; benthopelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 28 - 1000 m (Ref. 58489)

Climate / Range

Subtropical, preferred 9°C (Ref. 107945); 33°S - 59°S, 165°E - 66°W (Ref. 58452)

Distribution

Circumglobal in the southern hemisphere (Ref. 7300). Two distinct groups. New Zealand population: Chatham Rise, Campbell Plateau and South Island northward to the East Cape. Patagonian population: Chiloé Island in the Pacific, southward around the southern tip of South America to the continental shelf to 59°S, and the slope north to 38°S in the Atlantic.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 48-57; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 40 - 46; Vertebrae: 53 - 58. Body more slender than other hakes. Pectoral fins long and slender, stripe reaching anal fin in young individuals but not in fish over 50 cm in SL. Gill rakers short and thick with blunt tips. Color is steel gray on back grading to silvery white ventrally.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found at depths between 415 and 1000 m in New Zealand waters, and 62 to 800 m in South American waters. The Patagonian population feeds on southern blue whiting, whiptail, nototheniids and squids. The New Zealand population feeds mainly on fishes (especially gadoids), squids, euphausiids and benthic organisms. Adults probably migrate southward during the southern summer for feeding and return to the north in winter for spawning (Ref. 1371). Spawning takes place from August to September on the western coast of South Island, from September to November in the northern part of the Campbell Plateau, and between November and January on Chatham Rise (Ref. 58452). Utilized as food fish and fishmeal.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Threat to humans

  Harmless



Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial

More information

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Download XML

Internet sources

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD50 = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
4.5   ±0.79 se; Based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.07-0.19; tm=6-10; tmax=30)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
Moderate to high vulnerability (52 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
Medium