A Gram-stain-negative, moderately halophilic and facultatively aerobic bacterium capable of respiration with nitrate, designated strain JJ-M1(T), was isolated from saeu-jeot, a traditional Korean fermented shrimp sauce. Cells of the strain were non-motile short rods showing oxidase-negative and catalase-positive reactions and the production of pale-yellow pigments. Growth of strain JJ-M1(T) was observed at 20-37 degrees C (optimum, 30 degrees C), pH 5.5-9.5 (optimum, pH 7.0) and in the presence of 3-22.5 % (w/v) sea salts (optimum, 10 %). Strain JJ-M1(T) contained ubiquinone 9 (Q-9) as the predominant isoprenoid quinone and summed feature 8 (comprising C-18 : 1 omega 7c and/or C-18 : 1 omega 6c), C-16 : 0, summed feature 3 (comprising C-16 : 1 omega 7c and/or C-16 : 1 omega 6c) and C-12 : 0 3-OH as the major cellular fatty acids. The polar lipids consisted of phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphoglycolipid, diphosphatidylglycerol and four unidentified phospholipids. The genomic DNA G + C content of strain JJ-M1(T) was 62.4 mol%. Phylogenetic and comparative analyses, based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, indicated that strain JJ-M1(T) formed a tight phyletic lineage with Halomonas jeotgali Hwa(T) within the genus Halomonas and was most closely related to Halomonas jeotgali Hwa(T) with 96.2 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. Based on phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic features, strain JJ-M1(T) represents a novel species of the genus Halomonas, for which the name Halomonas garicola sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JJ-M1(T) (=KACC 18117(T) =JCM 30151(T)).