The first year I grew tomatoes at a community garden (elsewhere in California), lots of critters munched my fruit before I could pick it. I had a garden neighbor who grew rat habitat (an unmanaged berry thicket), and I did several things that mostly stopped any predation (except by humans!).
One. I started growing every color of tomato except red, figuring that the red color was an "eat now" beacon.
Two. I grew more cherry tomatoes, figuring if a critter bit or took one cherry tomato, I probably wouldn't even notice, because cherry tomatoes are so prolific.
Three. Surmising that the critters were nibbling tomatoes because they were thirsty, I started putting out a small water dish in my garden, and changing the water every day.
Four. I learned to pick the bigger tomatoes at first blush. Once the tomato has developed some color, the seeds are ripe and it will ripen indoors. This also made it easier to transport tomatoes home without damage. I don't think an indoor-ripened tomato tastes different from a sun-ripened one (a subject of continuing debate on tomato forums!). And in this climate, picking at first blush keeps the tomato from getting sunburned or getting overripe before you can pick it. Furthermore, some tomatoes have different flavors at different stages of ripeness, and if you pick them at first blush, you have the opportunity to find out what you prefer. This is especially crucial for lovers of tart tomatoes!
For example, tomato breeder Fred Hempel once observed that if you pick his 'Rainbow Jazz Heart' tomato when it's mostly green striped, it has a citrusy, tarter flavor, but if you wait until it gets fully colored, it's a sweet, rich tomato.
Another example is 'Black Krim', which I think develops its full flavor as a green-when-ripe tomato, when it is just starting to turn color. If you wait until it is fully dark, you have about 2 seconds to eat it until it is a puddle of overripe mush. It has no shelf life once it is fully dark. But it is an incredible cooked tomato. The Fedco seed catalog concurs: "Don't wait too long to harvest this delicate heirloom tomato. At half green and still firm they are already dead ripe and perfectly delicious. If you wait till they are fully purple, you will not be able to get them from garden to table intact (to say nothing of market) and they will disintegrate like a hunk of road-kill. Krims are strikingly iridescent purple on the outside, usually with dark green-black shoulders and noticeable catfacing. Interiors are part black, too, with an unusual juicy yet meaty taste and texture, described as having “…a smoky flavor like a good single malt scotch.” "