Catalina Island and its main city Avalon are wonderful places to visit and offer up an environment and atmosphere markedly different from that of the mainland that sits just a short, hour-long ferry ride away. So too the piers on Catalina, which offer up a plethora of different species of fish many of which are rarely encountered on the mainland piers. Herein, a sampling of species from the Catalina piers, primarily from the Cabrillo Mole and Green Pleasure Pier, both in Avalon, and the Isthmus Pier at Two Harbors.
Garibaldi
Garibaldi — Species: Hypsypops rubicundus (Girard, 1854); from the Greek word hypsypops (high area below the eye) and the Latin word rubicunda (red). Alternate Names: Golden perch, ocean sunfish and ocean goldfish. In Mexico called jaqueta garibaldi. As for the name garibaldi, it apparently was a name bestowed upon the fish by California’s Italian commercial fishermen in the 1800s. Giuseppe Garibaldi was one of the main leaders in the unification movement to create an Italian nation and his followers were known as the “Redshirts” for the bright red shirts they wore. He was considered a hero to Italians throughout the world and apparently the fish, at least to some, were reminiscent of those red shirts. Identification: Garibaldi are easily distinguished by the brilliant golden-orange coloring on the whole body and are considered by many the prettiest fish in our coastal waters. They are perch-shaped but very deep-bodied with large fins. The young (up to about 6 inches in length) are reddish orange with bright blue spots.
Garibaldi — a young fish with blue spots
Size: To 14 inches (some books say 15 inches) but most pier-caught fish are under a foot in length. Range: Bahia Magdalena, southern Baja California to Monterey Bay. Uncommon north of Santa Barbara and rare north of Point Conception. Habitat: Generally found in shallow-water, rocky-shore areas although they have been encountered down to a depth of almost 100 feet. Fitch and Lavenberg, Tidepool and Nearshore Fishes of California, report that “A wide variety of food items has been found in garibaldi stomachs, including sponges, sea anemones, bryozoans, algae, worms, crustaceans, clams and mussels, snail eggs, and their own eggs.” No wonder it is sometimes hard to keep them off a hook even though they’re illegal to keep.
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Topic: West End Bald Eagle Nest, Santa Catalina Island, California (Read 132508 times)