What Does a Hake Eat?

Hake is a long, bony whitefish, similar to cod and haddock. It lives in the North Atlantic and South Pacific and is usually a small fish, between 1 lb. and 8 lbs, although specimens of up to 60 lbs. have been discovered. It is exclusively predatory and is a prey fish of larger predators, like salmon, tuna and some sea mammals.

  1. North Atlantic

    • In the North Atlantic, the Atlantic hake has a diet made up of lanternfish, herring and other fish in the cod family. Many small baitfish, including mackerels, sardines and anchovies make for easy prey for the hake, despite traveling in shoals.

    South Pacific

    • In the South Pacific, the hake's diet includes more mollusks and squids due to the warmer temperatures of the Pacific and nearness to the equator. In these areas, the hake's diet also includes more juvenile fish from warm, ocean spawning pools.

    Cannibalism

    • Hake have no revulsion whatsoever to consuming fish of the same species, being voracious predators. In studies of the Atlantic and Pacific hake, researchers have shown that up to a quarter of a hake's diet is made up of other hake. This is thought to be a consequence of overpopulation and an overlap of adult and juvenile fish.

    Crustaceans

    • The great bulk of the hake diet is animals in the crustacean family, particularly shrimp and prawns, who swim freely near the sea floor. In some areas, such as the Pacific waters near Argentina, the diet of the hake can be up to 75 percent crustaceans.