Hake belonging to the genus Merlucdus are large fish often growing to overa metre in length; they are predators, being well streamlined and armed with formidableteeth; they feed pelagically on smaller fish of their own and other species. Of the various species distributed round the ocean basins, the European Hake, M. merlucdus (L.), ranges from Lofoten on the coast of Norway, to Dakar on the African westcoast; it is found most plentifully along the edge of the continental shelf of Western Europe but also extends into the Mediterranean and North Sea, whilestragglers occasionally range as far as Iceland.