Silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis) fishery has been conducted on the Scotian Shelf (NAFO Divisions 4VWX) since the mid-1960s, primarily by the distant water fleets of Russia, Cuba, and Japan in the early years. Prior to 1977, fishing on the Scotian Shelf was unrestricted in terms of area, mesh size and season. Since 1995, a fishery has been conducted by the Canadian tonnage class 3 (<65’) mobile gear fleet in and around Emerald and LaHave Basins (DFO 2010).

DFO survey trends in both numbers and biomass show relatively high levels in the early to mid-1980s, followed by a decline to relatively low levels over the period 1988-94 (Figure 4). Abundance and biomass increased in 1995 and 1996, but they have shown a declining trend subsequently, particularly in the case of biomass.

Scotian Shelf silver hake are generally found between 7 and 10o C, in deeper water on the shelf edge and in the Emerald and LaHave basins.

There are indications that there is a single population with incomplete mixing over Georges Bank. The relationship with Canadian stocks is not fully understood (NEFSC 2006) but a distinct stock is considered in the Scotian Shelf due to a major concentration (DFO 2013), apart the Northern and Southern US stocks (Col and Traver 2006).