The Deep-water Cape hake (Merluccius paradoxus) is a merluccid hake of the genus Merluccius, found in the south-eastern Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

, along the coast of Southern Africa

Southern Africa

Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...

, south of Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

. Its range extends in decreasing abundance around the southern coast of Africa and into the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

, but it is at its most plentiful in the cold, nutrient-rich fishing grounds of the Benguela Current

Benguela Current

The Benguela Current is the broad, northward flowing ocean current that forms the eastern portion of the South Atlantic Ocean gyre. The current extends from roughly Cape Point in the south, to the position of the Angola-Benguela Front in the north, at around 16°S. The current is driven by the...

.

In South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, in combination with Merluccius capensis

Merluccius capensis

The Shallow-water Cape hake is a merluccid hake of the genus Merluccius, found in the south-eastern Atlantic Ocean, along the coast of South Africa. Its range extends southwards around the coast and into the Indian Ocean. On the east coast it is less abundant and Merluccius capensis is rarely...

, the so-called Shallow-water Cape hake, it is one of the most important commercial food fishes and locally is generally known as Stockfish

Stockfish

Stockfish is unsalted fish, especially cod, dried by cold air and wind on wooden racks on the foreshore, called "hjell". The drying of food is the world's oldest known preservation method, and dried fish has a storage life of several years...

(this English name being derived from the Afrikaans

Afrikaans

Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...

 stokvis).

Very similar to Merluccius merluccius (European hake), it has an average length of 40–60 cm, up to a maximum of about 80 cm. It lives close to the bottom in muddy
areas on the continental shelf and slope. It usually is to be found at depths of 200 to 850m, although most commonly below 400 m. Immature specimens feed on small deep-sea fishes and crustaceans, especially Euphausiacea. Mature hake feed mainly on fish, squid, and crustaceans, especially Mysidacea

Mysidacea

Mysida is a group of small, shrimp-like crustaceans, an order in the malacostracan superorder Peracarida. Their common name opossum shrimps stems from the presence of a brood pouch, or marsupium, in females. Mysids are mostly found in marine waters throughout the world, but are also important in...

 and Euphausiacea.

There still is little information on its migratory habits as compared to those of Merluccius capensis, which have been fairly well studied.

The Deep-water Cape Hake is often fished together with the species Merluccius capensis

Merluccius capensis

The Shallow-water Cape hake is a merluccid hake of the genus Merluccius, found in the south-eastern Atlantic Ocean, along the coast of South Africa. Its range extends southwards around the coast and into the Indian Ocean. On the east coast it is less abundant and Merluccius capensis is rarely...

, which usually occurs at shallower depths. Most reported commercial catches combine both species, but towards the north west coast of Southern Africa, in the region of Angola, Merluccius paradoxus does not occur.