Maui, Molokini & Lānaʻi · United States · Artificial reef · Reef
Mala Wharf
A hurricane-flattened pier turned artificial reef
Photo: Dwarfroe · CC BY-SA 4.0
A concrete pier off Lahaina, built for the sugar and pineapple trade, closed to shipping around 1959 and then broken up by storms. The wreckage lies in 20 to 40 feet (6-12 m) of water and has grown into an artificial reef: whitetip reef sharks under the slabs, bluefin trevally over the top, and orange cup, snowflake and black coral on the broken concrete. You walk in from the beach beside the boat ramp.
Also known as Mala Pier.
Where it is and how deep
20.8852° N, 156.6870° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The dive is the ruin of the pier. Much of the structure farthest from land, the deck included, came down after Hurricane Iniki struck Maui on 11 September 1992, and what is left is a field of broken slabs and toppled pilings in 20 to 40 feet (6-12 m) of water off Lahaina. You go in from the small sandy beach beside the boat ramp, or across the boulders of the breakwater, and there is no route to follow: you work along the length of the wreckage and back, using the gaps between the slabs as the thing to look into.
Those gaps are where the animals are. Whitetip reef sharks lie up in the shade beneath the concrete, and bluefin trevally, chubs, goatfish, pufferfish, butterflyfish and Hawaiian squirrelfish work the structure above it. Turtles pass through, frogfish are here for anyone patient enough to pick them out, and the pilings themselves carry orange cup coral, snowflake coral, black coral and nudibranchs. It is a slow dive with a torch rather than a fast lap of a pile of rubble.
Background
Mala Wharf was built in 1922 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a landing dock for ships carrying sugar from the Pioneer plantation and pineapples from the Baldwin Packers cannery. The project cost $200,000 and used steel-reinforced concrete, and it went up on the site of ʻAlamihi, an ancient Hawaiian fishpond that had witnessed a battle between Kauhiʻaimokuakama, high chief of Maui, and Kamehameha I. Strong currents kept large vessels away and the pier was closed to shipping around 1959; Hurricane Iniki finished the job in 1992, and the collapsed pilings created the artificial reef divers use today.
Marine life and season
- Reef sharks
- Trevally & jacks
- Sea turtles
- Frogfish
- Nudibranchs
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Maui, Molokini & Lānaʻi: April to October is the calm dry season; winter swells hit the north coast while south-facing sites stay open.
Photos from Mala Wharf
Peaceray · CC BY-SA 4.0
Peaceray · CC BY 4.0
Dive videos
BEST SHORE DIVE ON MAUI! || Scuba Diving at Mala Wharf · Kaimana Conservation on YouTube
Scuba Diving at Night || Mala Wharf, Maui · Kaimana Conservation on YouTube
Questions divers ask
What is there to see at Mala Wharf?+
The collapsed concrete of the pier, which now works as an artificial reef. Whitetip reef sharks rest under the slabs, bluefin trevally, chubs, goatfish and Hawaiian squirrelfish move over the structure, and the pilings carry orange cup coral, snowflake coral, black coral and nudibranchs.
Why did Mala Wharf collapse?+
It was never much use to shipping — strong currents kept large vessels away and it closed around 1959 — and Hurricane Iniki, which struck Maui on 11 September 1992, caused further damage, after which much of the structure farthest from land, including the deck, collapsed. The wreckage was left in place and reef life took it over.
How deep is the Mala Wharf dive?+
Shallow: California Diver puts it at 20 to 40 feet (6-12 m) over the collapsed pier, which is why it works as a long, slow shore dive and as a snorkel.
Sources
- Mala Wharf — Wikipedia
- Shorediving Hawaii: Maui's Mala Wharf is one of Maui's Best Scuba Dives — California Diver Magazine
Photo credits
- Divers wading into the water beside the collapsed pilings of Mala Wharf by Dwarfroe, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Weathered concrete wharf on pilings stretching out over the water, framed by a shoreline tree by Peaceray, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- View along the broken wharf from the beach, with a dive boat moored near the far end by Peaceray, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Where to see reef sharks on your first divesBig animals · 14 min read
More dive sites in Maui, Molokini & Lānaʻi
Reef
Five to ten green turtles on a dive, in 11 m off the beach
Cave & cavern
A skylit lava cavern with a fallen-rock altar
A protected bay 4 m deep, reached on foot by trail
A reef running for miles, dived from 6 m down to 24 m
The outer rim's face drops 91 m into open ocean
250 fish species in a bowl the swell cannot reach
Reef
Fingered shallow reefs averaging about 4.6 m, in calm water
Similar dives elsewhere
A sunken tug in 5 m of water, straight off the beach
Artificial reef
Estátua do Cousteau
Ubatuba · Brazil
Life-size statue of Jacques Cousteau on the sand at 9 m
An 1875 wreck with its boiler at the centre, beside the lighthouse
Wobbegongs and grey nurse under a working navy jetty