More than a dozen hake and whiting species inhabit temperate and cold waters of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Quality varies, depending upon species and handling. There are two separate families of hake, Merluccidae and Gadidae, but Merluccius is most common in the U.S. market, particularly Atlantic whiting (M. bilinearis), or silver hake from the Northwest Atlantic. Pacific whiting (M. productus), found from the Bering Sea to Baja California, has very soft flesh and is frozen almost immediately to retain its value. Most hakes are identified by geographic origin outside the United States, which imports large amounts of Argentine whiting (M. hubbsi) and Chilean hake (M. gayi). Two high-end hakes from Southwest Africa, M. capensis and M. paradoxus, are marketed as Cape capensis. M. australis, a big hake from southern Chile, is sold as Antarctic queen.