Thai Fisherman Finds Huge Chunk Of Whale Vomit - That Could Be Worth £2.4Million

A fisherman from Thailand is on his way to becoming a millionaire after he found a massive chunk of whale vomit or Ambergris, estimated worth around £ 2.4 million. 

Ambergris – also commonly referred to as Whale Vomit or Gray Amber – is a solid, waxy, flammable, and highly valuable substance produced in the sperm whale digestive system.

Ambergris is produced only by sperm whales and only about one percent of them. It is extremely valuable because of its rareness, leading to its nickname "floating gold" or "sea treasure".

Naris Suwannasang (Fisherman), 60, spotted a load of lumps that looked like a piece of rock while walking by the seaside in Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand.

He called his cousins to help him take the mysterious masses home, where they began to prod and poke, on November 23, 2020.

The large rocks seemed to resemble highly prized ambergris, a rare whale secretion that is used as an expensive ingredient in perfume production-such as Chanel No5-to make its scent last longer.

The family tested the surface by burning it with a lighter, causing it to melt immediately while giving off a musky smell. This simple fire test allowed them to get convinced that it was 'Ambergris'.

Naris said the blobs weighed 220 lb-or 100 kg-possibly making it one of the biggest whale vomit or ambergris ever found.

Naris even claimed that he had been contacted by a businessman offering 960,000 Thai baht – or £23,740 per kilogram if the ambergris is proven to be of high quality.

More about "Ambergris"

Ambergris takes years to form, freshly produced ambergris is mostly pale white in color, and has a marine, fecal odor, but when exposed to sun, air, and seawater, it hardens and fades into a light-dark grey or black color, a crusty and waxy texture, and a subtle and pleasant fragrance.

Ambergris found in lumps of different shapes and sizes, usually weighing from 15 grams to 50 kilograms, sometimes more. It has been highly valued by perfumers as a fixative that allows the scent to last longer.

Ambergris is mainly found in the Atlantic Ocean and on the coasts of South Africa, Brazil, Madagascar, the East Indies, the Maldives, China, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, and the Molucca Islands. Most commercially collected ambergris originate from the Bahamas.

In April 2016, an ambergris ball of 1,57 kilograms was sold in Lancashire for 50,000 pounds, while in November of the same year, three Omani fishermen found 80 kilograms of ambergris and sold it for 2.3 million pounds.

Many countries have banned the buying and selling of ambergris as a way to discourage the illegal hunting and exploitation of whales – including Australia and the United States, although its trade is legal in the United Kingdom, France, and Switzerland.

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