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Trochus shell
Trochus shell

Trochus shell

Datec 1994
Object number00018257
NameTrochus shell
MediumTrochus shell
Dimensions80 x 89 x 80 mm, 0.25 kg
Display Dimensions: 75 mm
ClassificationsAnimals and animal products
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis polished trochus shell was collected by the Bardi people from One Arm Point on the Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia. It is the shell of the sea snail Trochus niloticus, and is found in the shallows of tropical reefs. Its inner layer of mother-of-pearl makes it attractive for use in jewellery, and its flesh is eaten.HistoryThe indigenous Bardi people from One Arm Point on the Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia are the only people licenced to commercially exploit trochus in the state. The Bardi people and other coastal Aboriginal communities living along the peninsula traditionally collect the trochus from inshore reefs at low tide. The trochus is eaten locally, and remains an important food source. Since the 1990s, the crafts people of the Bardi Aboriginal community have been producing both traditional and contemporary arts and crafts with trochus shell for the art market, becoming a valuable source of income for the community. In the early 2000s Ardyaloon hatchery was established at One Arm Point to farm trochus for the sale of the mother-of-pearl shell. The Bardi-run hatchery also farms juvenile trochus for sale to the aquarium industry, and to restock the local trochus population.