Biology and fishery of the Southern Hake (Merluccius australis) in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

Southern hake (Merluccius australis) is distributed mainly south of 50° S around South America, occurring in cold temperate waters of subantarctic origin. In the Southwest Atlantic Ocean (SAO) only adults are abundant. This species is icththyophagous and malacophagous, feeding mainly on long tail hake (Macruronus magellanicus) and several cephalopods (Illex argentinus, Onykia ingens, Doryteuthis gahi). Age and growth studies show significant sexual differences; females grow to a larger size than males. In recent years, the highest biomasses, estimated from trawl surveys using the swept area method, are about 10,000 t. Fish 4 to 8 years old usually dominate commercial landings. Only a few factory trawler vessels have southern hake as a target species. They operate over the main fishing grounds located near Tierra del Fuego and at the eastern mouth of the Beagle Channel. Average annual landings are about 5,000 t.