If you have been diving or snorkeling in California, the odds are good that you have encountered cheerful orange Garibaldi along the way. Members of the Damsel family, these attractive and lively fish are protected in Californian waters and are abundant in other areas. You don’t need to dive deep to enjoy their company; they prefer shallow water and rarely stray to depths beyond 30 meters.
Getting to Know the Garibaldi
Garibaldis are named after the famous Italian leader, Giuseppe Garibaldi, who, along with many of his supporters, always wore a bright red shirt. Born in 1807, he came to the United States in the mid-1800’s and is regarded as a national hero in Italy. Much like their namesake, Garibaldis are hearty, vigorous fish. They grow to be a maximum of about 15 inches long, and prefer to inhabit rocky reefs, sheltered grottoes, kelp forests, and other areas where marine invertebrates are plentiful. They feed on all sorts of crustaceans and other small creatures by plucking them up from the rocks, and they have a tendency to school in one area, preferring to stay local rather than migrating from one place to another.
With a round, stout profile, Garibaldis have long pectoral fins and distinct heart shaped tails. Juveniles can be identified by their blue spots and blue lines that edge the borders of their fins. The fish have big, bright, yellow eyes, and tend to live in groups of up to about forty individuals with a home territory that covers an area about the size of a basketball court.
During the mating season, Garibaldis become even more territorial. Males clear sheltered nesting sites, into which females deposit eggs for fertilization. After this, the males guard their nests for 19-21 days until the eggs hatch. If you see nesting Garibaldis, keep your distance! Males will nip divers in an attempt to drive them away from nests, often making a burping noise as they attack. Stay back and watch what happens when other fish get too close; the sight of a territorial display is quite impressive.
Garibaldis live in a very small corner of the world, inhabiting an area from Monterey Bay in California, down to Baja, Mexico. While they are abundant within this region, they exist nowhere else in the world. To enjoy Garibaldi encounters, you can explore sites throughout the area. For example, the fish are commonly found in Monterey Bay, at the Channel Islands, including Catalina, in La Jolla and at other San Diego dive sites, in Santa Barbara, and in Los Angeles. Many of these sites can be easily accessed from shore, and many of the best places to see Garibaldis are suitable for snorkeling.
While Garibaldis are brightly colored and while public aquariums, like Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, and the Scripps-La Jolla Institute of Oceanography in San Diego keep them on display, it is illegal to harass, annoy, or attempt to capture a Garibaldi. Instead, capture them with your camera.