Hake

It’s the most appreciated fish in Euskadi, and it can be fished all year round.

Its body is long and a bit soft. Its head is a bit flattened; it has big and sunken eyes. The lower jaw is prominent. The first dorsal fin is very short and the second and the anal ones are very long, but differentiated from caudal fin. Greyish colour, although it’s iridescent when fished recently. It can reach a meter and weight up to 10 kg. Hake is considered to be hake when it reaches at least 2 kg.

It lives in depths of 100 to 1000 meters, but it goes to the surface at night as it eats pelagic fish. It spawns in May and June. It lives throughout the whole sea but due to how deep they live it’s only fished in the continental shelf. It’s fished with hook, line and trawl, the ones fished in the Cantabria coast being more appreciated.

The 40% are more than 18cm and less than a kg. They are called whitings. The ones which are less than 18 cm. are not allowed to be fished. They can be bought fresh, frozen in many ways and also salted.

We can check its freshness by the firm and elastic consistency, scales stuck to the body, entrails with a pleasant smell, rosy gills, convex and clear eyes, shiny skin and intact intestinal cavity.

A ration is estimated to be 250 grams.

White saltwater fish.