Resumen:
This paper describes a method to discriminate different stocks of the Argentine hake (Merluccius hubbsi)based on the counting of white skeletal fibres of the trunk. A total of 713 females were examined from samples coming from a wide area of the Argentine shelf (between 34°30' and 54°00'S) which corresponds to the following systems: Uruguayan, Buenos Aires, northern, central and southern-patagonian. All results may be considered as preliminary due to the incipient nature of the information available on fibre regulation in fish.