The term hake refers to fish in the: Family Merlucciidae of northern and southern oceans Family Phycidae (sometimes considered the subfamily Phycinae in the family Gadidae) of the northern oceans Hake Hake is in the same taxonomic order (Gadiformes) as cod and haddock. It is a medium-to-large fish averaging from 0.5 to 3.6 kg (1 to 8 pounds) in weight, with specimens as large as 27kg (60lb). The fish can grow up to in length with a lifespan of as long as 14 years. Hake may be found in the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean in waters from deep. The fish stay in deep water during the day and come to shallower depths during the night. An undiscerning predator, hake feed on prey found near or on the bottom of the sea. Male and female hake are very similar in appearance. After spawning, the hake eggs float on the surface of the sea where the larvae develop. After a certain period of time, the baby hake then migrate to the bottom of the sea, preferring depths of less than . A total of 13 hake species are known in the family Merlucciidae: Argentine hake (Merluccius hubbsi), found off Argentina Benguela hake (Merluccius poli), found off South Africa Deep-water hake (Merluccius paradoxus) found in the southern Atlantic Ocean European hake (Merluccius merluccius), found off the Atlantic coast of Europe and western North Africa, in the Mediterranean Sea, and in the Black Sea Gayi hake (Merluccius gayi), found in the North Pacific Ocean North Pacific hake (Merluccius productus), found in the North Pacific Offshore hake (Merluccius albidus), found off the United States Panama hake (Merluccius angustimanus), found in the Eastern Pacific Senegalese hake (Merluccius senegalensis), found off the Atlantic coast of western North Africa Shallow-water hake (Merluccius capensis), found in the southern Atlantic Ocean Silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis), found in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean Southern hake (Merluccius australis), found off Chile and off New Zealand Not all hake species are viewed as commercially important, but the deep-water and shallow-water hakes are known to grow rapidly and make up the majority of harvested species. Commercial use The highest demand for hake has been in Europe. Hake has been primarily divided into three principal levels—fresh, frozen, and frozen fillet. Fresh hake is mainly supplied by European production and imports. Frozen hake and frozen hake fillet are effectively supplied by imports and European processing companies.