The shallow-water Cape or South African hake (Merluccius capensis) 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 is rarely found in significant numbers north of KwaZulu-Natal. On the west coast, M.