European Hake Merluccius merluccius

The European Hake (Merluccius merluccius) is a sleek, predatory gadoid of moderate to deeper waters, widely valued as a food fish and supporting major fisheries in the north-east Atlantic. In the North Sea, it occurs primarily in deeper northern and western areas, and encounters in Suffolk’s inshore and offshore waters are relatively uncommon – though the species’ range has shown signs of northward and eastward expansion in recent decades, possibly linked to warming sea temperatures. Hake are occasionally caught by offshore vessels working out of Suffolk ports, and their occurrence in the southern North Sea is of interest to fisheries scientists tracking distributional changes. Image: © Guido Schmitz, iNaturalist.

Find out more: iNaturalist, Marine Life Information Centre