Goldfish Bowl
When I was a small child, I remember one of my first desires was to “see underwater.” I begged my uncle. I just had to see underwater. I wasn’t even sure what that meant but he did. He bought me a small goldfish bowl with a handful of shiny orange goldfish. I sat in front of that magical underwater scene for hours, watching the fascinating creatures undulate in their liquid home.

Whenever I dive the site known as Goldfish Bowl on Anacapa Island, I think of my uncle, now long since gone. And underwater, I pause in memory of my uncle and watch the goldfish swim by.

Goldfish Bowl is so much more, however, than just garibaldi (the California State Marine Fish, and our bright orange “goldfish”). This is one of the most beautiful beginner dives in all the Channel Islands.

From sheer cliff faces off the north side of West Anacapa Island, ridge after ridge of rock fingers jut underwater reaching for the depths. Across the top of each ridge you glide only to settle on the far side and be greeted by new friendly critters of this aquarium that’s wilder than any childhood imaginings.

I love the gorgonians. They are like the multi-colored plastic “seaweed” you use to buy at the pet shop, only they are alive. Gorgonians are California’s soft coral. Pink, orange, gold and purple — this is one of the best selection of gorgonians in all the Channel Islands. While the stands are not huge, the variety is what I like. I especially enjoy the smaller purple gorgonian. These richly colored stands are seldom not much more than two feet tall but carry the most color impact. They are also more abundant here than anywhere else in the Channel Islands. West Anacapa Island is the only place you will find them in abundance and they are only rare elsewhere. Take time to look very closely at their branches and you might spot the tiny Simnia snail feeding on the tiny polyps.

Another mollusk of note here is the chestnut cowrie. Cowries are generally a tropical only animal, but one species reaches into California’s temperate water. Its shiny rich brown shell is a prize for shell collectors, but divers have the privilege of seeing them live with their semi-translucent mantle flopped over the glossy shell. Look for them wedged in crevices.

As this is a “fish bowl,” it does not disappoint. Other than abundant garibaldi, adding color are sheephead, treefish, rock wrasse, and painted greenlings. Blizzards of dark blue blacksmith fish filter through the kelp atop the ridges and cigar shaped señorita fish patrol the lower kelp stalks. Giant black sea bass have been known to pass through this area as well. With the ridges offering many angles, abundant fish, and large healthy kelp stands, this is an excellent area for wide-angle photography.

Clear waters help with photography as well, or just lounging in the beauty of this wonderful dive site. Visibility is generally quite good here averaging 40 to 60 owed to the rocky island and nearly constant current bathing the site from west to east. The current can be a problem if you venture too far from the reefs, but while diving you need only duck into the gullies between the ridges to escape the worst effects.

The ridges ramble down the slope to end in sand about 35 to 60 feet down depending on specific location. The sand continues down steeply from there.

Goldfish Bowl spans from about 300 yards east of the western tip of West Anacapa down the shore another 700 - 800 yards until reaching the western boundary of the pelican preserve. Entry into the protected pelican nesting area is prohibited in all months except November and December.

Underwater seafood hunting at Goldfish Bowl is possible but is restricted only to lobster (in season) and pelagic finfish. This is only a fair lobster spot with bug grabbing better to the east in the Pelican Preserve (November and December only). Spearfishing for white sea bass and yellowtail is fair during the summer and early fall. Look on the outer fringes of the kelp further to the west.

But in my goldfish bowl at home as a kid, I never went spearfishing. I just watched, wondered and then grew into watching Cousteau on the tube, and then into doing the real thing—eventually at the Goldfish Bowl. The kid in me wants to go back again and again and I will oblige him.