Chilean hake

Merluccius australis

Fish
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth186–802 m
Water temperature5–20 °C
Best monthsFebruary, August, and November
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Rawpixel Ltd, bazı hakları saklıdır (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Merluccius australis, the southern hake, is a species of fish from the family Merlucciidae, the true hakes. It is found in the southern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans with two disjunct populations, one around southern South America and the other in the waters around New Zealand.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Merluccius australis”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 319 records
February: 3,286 records
March: 1,909 records
April: 2,322 records
May: 1,139 records
June: 108 records
July: 266 records
August: 2,999 records
September: 1,480 records
October: 1,861 records
November: 3,879 records
December: 448 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 186–802 m · Deepest record: 1,445.5 m

0–10 m: 9 records
10–20 m: 57 records
20–30 m: 86 records
30–40 m: 77 records
40–50 m: 72 records
50–60 m: 46 records
60–70 m: 57 records
70–80 m: 30 records
80–90 m: 30 records
90–100 m: 31 records
100–110 m: 28 records
110+ m: 27,371 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 5–20 °C

4–6 °C: 1 records
6–8 °C: 713 records
8–10 °C: 36 records
10–12 °C: 33 records
12–14 °C: 97 records
14–16 °C: 106 records
16–18 °C: 10 records
18–20 °C: 1 records

Names and classification

English: Chilean hake, Hake, Patagonian hake, Southern hake, Whiting, Blue Whiting, Haddock, hake, southern hake, whiting

Names in 4 more languages

German: südlicher Seehecht
Spanish: maltona, merluza austral, merluza del sur, merluza española, merluzón
French: merlu austral
Japanese: hitachi, hitachi dara, Hitachidara, nyujiirando-heiku, ヒタチダラ

Other scientific names: Gadus australis, Merlangius australis, Merluccius polylepis

Similar species

Chilean whiting
Merluccius gayi
European hake
Merluccius merluccius

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
28,996 open-data records from 1900 to 2023.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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