Our State Fish: The Garibaldi

This beautiful orange fish is the state fish of California, the Garibaldi. This picture was taken right off the coast of Catalina Island. As you can see, it lives around rocks near the Kelp “forest.” The Garibaldi can grow to be about a foot long. The interesting thing about this fish is that the male makes the “nest.” He chooses an area on a rock where the eggs can be laid. A female passes by and decides, “Hmmmm, he did a good job. He made a nice nest area.” She lays the eggs and leaves! The male stays and protects the eggs from predators. He will even approach human divers if he thinks the eggs are in danger. He hangs around for a few weeks and then the eggs hatch. The babies grow and become red with blue spots. For a while, the numbers of Garibaldi were decreasing. Can you think why? They were stolen! Humans would trap the fish, hide them in containers, and sell them back to people who wanted Garibaldi in their salt water aquariums. Now, the fish are protected by law. People have to pay big fines if they steal Garibaldi from the ocean. If you ever get a chance to go to Catalina Island, do it. When your boat docks in the harbor, you will look down and see orange flashes just below the surface of the water. These orange blurs are the Garibaldi darting around in their territory. There is an orange fish about every 20 feet along the coast, welcoming you to the Intertidal Zone of Catalina Island.


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