Daily Mail
Thirty-five fishermen in Yemen were lifted out of poverty after unexpectedly finding £1.1million worth of whale vomit in the carcass of a sperm whale.
The lucky find was uncovered in February after a group of fishermen were alerted to a sperm whale carcass floating in the Gulf of Aden by a fisherman from Seriah.
The men, from al-Khaisah, were told the carcass might contain the sought-after substance ambergris, or ‘vomit gold’, which is used in perfume making and worth around £35,000 per kilogram.
The fishermen took the whale to shore and cut it open to see if there was ambergris in its stomach and, to their delight, they found lumps of the rare vomit weighing 127kg, which they fetched £1.1million for.
Speaking to the BBC, one fisherman said: ‘As soon as we got close to it there was this strong smell and we had the feeling that this whale had something.
‘We decided to hook the whale in, take it to shore and cut into it to see what was inside its belly – and yes, it was ambergris. The smell wasn’t very nice but lots of money.’
Ambergris has a foul smell at first but after drying out, it develops a sweet and long-lasting fragrance, which makes it a sought-after ingredient in the perfume industry.
Another fishermen added: ‘When we found the ambergris I felt so happy. It was an unimaginable price.’
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