diff --git a/src/persist-client/src/internal/metrics.rs b/src/persist-client/src/internal/metrics.rs
index 8daba8b775854..08dade2315538 100644
--- a/src/persist-client/src/internal/metrics.rs
+++ b/src/persist-client/src/internal/metrics.rs
@@ -1853,6 +1853,9 @@ pub struct UsageAuditMetrics {
     pub step_state: Counter,
     /// Time spent doing math
     pub step_math: Counter,
+    /// Count of shards skipped during a referenced-usage computation because
+    /// computing their usage panicked (e.g. an undecodable rollup).
+    pub referenced_shard_failures: IntCounter,
 }
 
 impl UsageAuditMetrics {
@@ -1890,6 +1893,10 @@ impl UsageAuditMetrics {
             step_blob_metadata: step_timings.with_label_values(&["blob_metadata"]),
             step_state: step_timings.with_label_values(&["state"]),
             step_math: step_timings.with_label_values(&["math"]),
+            referenced_shard_failures: registry.register(metric!(
+                name: "mz_persist_usage_referenced_shard_failures",
+                help: "count of shards skipped during referenced-usage computation due to a panic",
+            )),
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/persist-client/src/usage.rs b/src/persist-client/src/usage.rs
index 2f1d87d0db46f..661b320e493eb 100644
--- a/src/persist-client/src/usage.rs
+++ b/src/persist-client/src/usage.rs
@@ -9,12 +9,15 @@
 
 //! Introspection of storage utilization by persist
 
+use std::any::Any;
 use std::collections::BTreeMap;
+use std::panic::AssertUnwindSafe;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 use std::time::Instant;
 
 use futures::stream::{FuturesUnordered, StreamExt};
 use mz_ore::cast::CastFrom;
+use mz_ore::future::OreFutureExt;
 use mz_persist::location::Blob;
 use tokio::sync::Semaphore;
 use tracing::{error, info};
@@ -25,6 +28,18 @@ use crate::internal::state::HollowBlobRef;
 use crate::internal::state_versions::StateVersions;
 use crate::{Metrics, PersistClient, ShardId, retry_external};
 
+/// Best-effort extraction of the message from a caught panic payload, which is
+/// almost always a `&str` or `String`.
+fn panic_message(payload: &(dyn Any + Send)) -> &str {
+    if let Some(s) = payload.downcast_ref::<&'static str>() {
+        s
+    } else if let Some(s) = payload.downcast_ref::<String>() {
+        s.as_str()
+    } else {
+        "<non-string panic payload>"
+    }
+}
+
 /// A breakdown of the size of various contributions to a shard's blob
 /// usage that is actively referenced by any live state in Consensus.
 #[derive(Clone, Debug)]
@@ -265,7 +280,27 @@ impl StorageUsageClient {
                     .acquire()
                     .await
                     .expect("acquiring permit from open semaphore");
-                let shard_usage = self.shard_usage_referenced(shard_id).await;
+                // Computing a shard's usage requires decoding its rollups,
+                // which `expect`s the encoded state to be valid. This is a
+                // best-effort billing scan that runs periodically across every
+                // shard, so an undecodable (e.g. corrupt) rollup in any one
+                // shard must not abort the whole process. Catch the panic,
+                // skip the shard, and keep going.
+                let shard_usage = AssertUnwindSafe(self.shard_usage_referenced(shard_id))
+                    .ore_catch_unwind()
+                    .await
+                    .unwrap_or_else(|payload| {
+                        self.metrics.audit.referenced_shard_failures.inc();
+                        error!(
+                            "skipping shard {shard_id} in referenced storage usage \
+                             computation due to a panic: {}",
+                            panic_message(&*payload),
+                        );
+                        ShardUsageReferenced {
+                            batches_bytes: 0,
+                            rollup_bytes: 0,
+                        }
+                    });
                 (shard_id, shard_usage)
             };
             by_shard_futures.push(shard_usage_fut);
@@ -980,6 +1015,65 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(shard_usage_referenced.batches_bytes, batches_size);
     }
 
+    // A corrupt (undecodable) rollup in one shard must not abort the whole
+    // process during the periodic, best-effort `shards_usage_referenced` scan.
+    // Instead, the bad shard is skipped and the rest are still reported.
+    #[mz_persist_proc::test(tokio::test)]
+    #[cfg_attr(miri, ignore)] // unsupported operation: returning ready events from epoll_wait is not yet implemented
+    async fn usage_referenced_undecodable_rollup(dyncfgs: ConfigUpdates) {
+        mz_ore::test::init_logging();
+
+        let data = [
+            (("1".to_owned(), "one".to_owned()), 1, 1),
+            (("2".to_owned(), "two".to_owned()), 2, 1),
+        ];
+
+        let shard_id = ShardId::new();
+        let client = new_test_client(&dyncfgs).await;
+        let (mut write, _read) = client
+            .expect_open::<String, String, u64, i64>(shard_id)
+            .await;
+        let mut b1 = write.expect_batch(&data[..], 0, 3).await;
+        write
+            .expect_compare_and_append_batch(&mut [&mut b1], 0, 3)
+            .await;
+
+        let usage = StorageUsageClient::open(client);
+
+        // Overwrite every rollup blob for this shard with bytes that can't be
+        // decoded as a `ProtoRollup`, simulating the corruption seen in the
+        // wild. `usage` and the test live in the same module, so we can reach
+        // into its `blob`.
+        let mut rollup_keys = Vec::new();
+        usage
+            .blob
+            .list_keys_and_metadata(&BlobKeyPrefix::Shard(&shard_id).to_string(), &mut |meta| {
+                if let Ok((_, PartialBlobKey::Rollup(_, _))) = BlobKey::parse_ids(meta.key) {
+                    rollup_keys.push(meta.key.to_owned());
+                }
+            })
+            .await
+            .expect("list keys");
+        assert!(!rollup_keys.is_empty(), "shard should have a rollup");
+        for key in &rollup_keys {
+            usage
+                .blob
+                .set(key, Bytes::from_static(&[0xff; 32]))
+                .await
+                .expect("overwrite rollup");
+        }
+
+        let before = usage.metrics.audit.referenced_shard_failures.get();
+        // This used to panic (and, via the abort-on-panic handler, take down
+        // the process). It should now skip the shard and return cleanly.
+        let usages = usage.shards_usage_referenced([shard_id]).await;
+        assert_eq!(usages.by_shard.get(&shard_id).map(|u| u.size_bytes()), Some(0));
+        assert_eq!(
+            usage.metrics.audit.referenced_shard_failures.get(),
+            before + 1
+        );
+    }
+
     struct TestCase {
         current_state_batches_bytes: u64,
         current_state_bytes: u64,