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Home > Places
> Midway Atoll > Midway Dive Sites
Updated 10/15/2012
NOTE: Recreational diving ceased after
2002
Midway’s normal diving season extends from May through September, although
shore dives may be done under the piers throughout the year.
The best diving conditions occur during August and September.
Sites are 5 to 30 minutes away from the harbor. Typical reefs are expanses of
rugged limestone with numerous ledges, tunnels, and canyons. Most sites had
mooring buoys and dives are generally conducted while at-anchor. Drift dives
were discouraged since Midway lacks well-defined walls or drop-offs. Night diving
was limited to the Tugboat Pier or Cargo Pier on a case-by-case basis. |
Midway was one of the best places in the world to see & photograph Hawaiian fishes;
big, rare, and endemic species in abundance, fearless with divers. Since
Midway is the only Northwestern Hawaiian Island approved for recreational diving, new
species records or range extensions were made by our dive guides. Daily
sites were selected according to water conditions, experience level, and specific
interests. Many popular sites are
located along the southwest rim of the barrier reef. Currents at most areas are
mild except during the full or new moon. Periods of calm give way to strong
tradewinds or swells throughout the year.
Alternate sites were chosen when such conditions exist, often at
unexplored regions.
Review
of Midway Sport Diving published in Undercurrent, Feb. 2000
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UPDATE, 10/2012: Scuba diving is not currently available at Midway.
Due to severe budget cuts and limited staffing, formal visitor programs
have stopped. |
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