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Broome

Broome on WA's Kimberley coast is the heart of Australia's South Sea Pearl industry — a heritage rich in Indigenous, Asian, and European involvement going back to the 1880s.

Pearling capital
Part of Western Australia

About Broome

Broome on WA's Kimberley coast is the heart of Australia's South Sea Pearl industry — a heritage rich in Indigenous, Asian, and European involvement going back to the 1880s.

Economic value

~$60M (2023)

Key facts

Top species caught here

Key fishing ports

Processors, co-ops & markets

Historical timeline

  1. 1880
    Pearling industry begins.
  2. 1956
    Cultured South Sea Pearl industry established (Paspaley).
  3. 2012
    Pearl meat — by-product of pearl culture — emerges as a niche premium food.

Cultural & heritage significance

Broome's pearling history is unique in Australia. The town's heritage interweaves Aboriginal, Japanese, Malay, Indonesian, and Filipino communities — many of whom worked the historic pearl-shell industry. The contemporary pearl industry remains a deeply place-based, multi-cultural enterprise.

Visitor experiences

Sources cited on this page

  1. Australian fisheries and aquaculture statistics 2023ABARES (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry), 2024
    Annual statistical compendium covering volume, value, exports, employment.
  2. Western Australian fisheries status reportsWA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, 2024