Two species of hake are found in South African waters: the shallow-water Cape hake Merluccius capensis and the deep-water hake Merluccius paradoxus. Both species are referred to as “demersal fish” because they generally live and feed on or near the seabed (the demersal zone).
As their names suggest, the two species live at different depths: shallow-water hake have been recorded from close inshore (30m) to about 500m, with most of the population living between 100 and 300m, while deep-water hake range from depths of 110 to 1 000m, with most of the stock located between 200 and 800m. Both species increase in size the further offshore and the deeper they live and so large shallow-water hake co-exist with (and feed extensively on) smaller deep-water hake.
On the west coast, the continental shelf is narrow and most trawling is in deep water; as a result, catches are dominated by deep-water hake. In contrast, most trawling on the south coast is on the wide continental shelf (the Agulhas Bank) and shallow-water hake tends to dominate, accounting for as much as 70% of hake catches.
Although the two species are distinct, they are usually caught, processed and sold under the collective name of “Cape hake”, “Cape capensis” or “Cape haddie”.
More about the Cape hakes
Status of the stocks
Fish stocks fluctuate naturally and in 2014, after six consecutive years of increased catch rates, the hake fishery entered a downward phase. The total allowable catch (TAC) was reduced slightly in 2015 and held steady in 2016. Further cuts were made in 2017 and 2018. For the 2019 fishing season, the TAC was increased by 10%. The total allocation to the hake deep-sea trawl fishery is 122 430.737 tons.
Stocks of both deep water hake (Merluccius paradoxus) and shallow water hake (Merluccius capensis) are considered to be “above maximum sustainable yield”. This means the growth of the stock is in balance with fishing activity and current catch levels are sustainable over time.