Merluccius gayi is a merluccid hake of the genus Merluccius, with two subspecies, the South Pacific hake (M. g. gayi) and the Peruvian hake (M. g. peruanus), found in the south-western Pacific Ocean, along the coast of South America, from Peru (Merluccius gayi peruanus) to the Chilean coasts up to the Chiloé Archipelago.