El Niño Compendium
Garibaldi
Also calledgolden perch, ocean goldfish
Range status
Edge of rangeRarity this season
CommonCommon in Southern California. The news is hundreds of young fish at Monterey, the northern edge of the range.
Primary biome
Secondary biomes
Sightings
2026 season, every one sourced
Central California
- Oct 17 to 24, 2026Monterey Wharf, Del Monte Beach and Ball Buster"Hundreds" of juveniles at Ball Buster, about 20 along the Monterey wharf wall
- From Sept 1, 2026Central California, Monterey from Sept 2750 records
Photos
From California this season
No photos yet. If you photographed this animal in California this season, post it to the Coastal Bulletin.
Home Range
Where it normally lives
Monterey Bay south to southern Baja California and Guadalupe Island.
Range source: FishBase
Habitat
Shallow rocky reef and kelp forest, with crevices and caves, from the surface to about 100 feet; concentrated in southern California and the Channel Islands
Taxonomy
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Actinopterygii
Order
Blenniiformes
Family
Pomacentridae
Genus / Species
Hypsypops rubicundus
Family, common name
Damselfishes
Rarity
Rarity this season
Common
Reports this season
54
Conservation status
Least Concern (assessed 2007)
Rarity in the compendium is how often the animal has been reported on the California coast this season, not how rare it is where it normally lives. It moves as new sightings come in.
Full Species Profile
The garibaldi has a full Ichthyopedia entry with its natural history, seasonality and where to find it in a normal year.
Read the Garibaldi entry →