SECTION 5 

 Silver hake {Mer>lucoius bilinearis) 



Life History Summary 



Silver hake (also called whiting) are one of the most abundant demersal 

 species occurring between Cape Sable, Nova Scotia and South Carolina. Conover 

 et al . (1961) suggested that morphometric differences separated the population 

 into two stocks, but recently scientists have identified three stocks: Gulf 

 of Maine, Georges Bank and Southern New England-Mid-Atlantic (Anderson et al . 

 1980). Silver hake overwinter in the deep waters of the Gulf of Maine and the 

 continental slope from Georges Bank to Cape Hatteras. In the summer and 

 autumrv, they are found in shallow bank waters and coastal areas (Anderson 

 1974). 



In recent years, during late fall or early spring when other recreational 

 species are not available, shore-based or party boat anglers have enjoyed a 

 recreational hook-and-1 ine fishery concentrated between New York and New 

 Jersey. The commercial fishery has a history that dates back to before the 

 turn of the century. Initially pound and trap nets were used for the coastal 

 fishery, but as more draggers were built and technological advances in 

 processing the catch were improved, new offshore fishing grounds were 

 exploited (Gusey 1976). The foreign fishing fleets, predominantly from the 

 Soviet Union, started to harvest silver hake in the early 1960 ' s with 

 estimated landings of over 350,000 metric tons (Anderson et al. 1980). Since 

 1973, foreign catches have declined significantly as a result of catch 

 limitations under auspices of the International Commission for the Northwest 

 Atlantic Fisheries and because of the Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

 of 1976. 



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