These fish wash ashore and can be collected from the surf at night before the seagulls get to them. Handle hakes similarly to cod, haddock, and pollock. Their flesh is much softer than cod's and bruises easily, so land them carefully and handle them as little as possible. Bleed large fish with a throat cut. To minimize handling, stun hakes, gut them, and pack them on ice as soon as possible.
Whiting are generaly used whole or headed and gutted.
Red hake are used dressed or as fillets. Hake and whiting fillets have a very soft texture that can get mushy and spoil rapidly in direct contact with ice or icewater. Red hake and whiting are also poor candidates for freezing, which can change their texture significantly. Hake fillets become increasingly tough and rubbbery during frozen storage. Bluefish Bluefish, a popular game fish, are usually plentiful in the summer and fall.