Couple Finds Whale Vomit Worth Up To $70,000

When a British couple, Gary and Angela Williams, identified a foul stink on Middleton Sands Beach, close to Morecambe Bay, they walked up to it and found some whale vomit worth $70,000.

"It was down a section of the beach where no one really walks," Gary said. "It smells too bad, though. It's a very distinctive smell, like a cross between squid and farmyard manure."

The vomit is worth a huge sum because it is highly valued in the fragrance industry. This field is able to use its ability to protect scents like perfume over a long period of time.

The vomit, weighing about 1.57 kilograms, is important for negotiations with many parties. Sometimes, whale vomit double this size is valued at nearly $170,000.

Whale vomit, or ambergris, is made in the digestive system of sperm whales. It can make loose anything that gets stuck in order to expel it from the body. As sperm whales tend to feed on squid, their beaks can get stuck in the whale's digestive system and create a number of problems.

Ambergris is hard when it is expelled from the whale's body. As Gary claims, it "feels like a rock hard rubber ball. Its texture is like wax, like a candle. When you touch it you get wax sticking to your fingers."

Even though ambergris is part of a legal trade in the United Kingdom, it is not allowed for sale in many other countries, such as the United States, because "whale-protection initiatives" prohibit its commercial use.

Having found the whale vomit has proved to be a fortunate bit of luck for the couple.

 "If it is worth a lot of money, it will go a long way towards buying us a static caravan. It would be a dream come true," Gary said.