Why is whale vomit so expensive?

WHALE vomit, or ambergris, is also known as “floating gold” – because of how rare and valuable it is.

But just why is whale vomit so expensive – and how much is it really worth?

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Why is whale vomit so expensive?

Whale vomit, or ambergris, comes from sperm whales, but it can’t be taken from a living whale – so you can only get it if you find it washed up.

Although sperm whales live all over the oceans, ambergris is found in less than five per cent of whale carcasses, so you don’t find it washed up very often.

It is also called the Treasure of the Sea, or Floating Gold.

It’s highly coveted by perfume companies who use the ambrein alcohol extracted from ambergris to sustain scent.

Pure white varieties being the most valuable in the perfume industry. Ambergris can also be grey, brown, and black, with the latter being the least valuable as it contains the least ambrein.

The quality is influenced by oxidation.

It was once thought to be hardened sea foam or poo from seabirds – but mass whaling in the 1800s revealed it comes from the guts of the sperm whale.

They eat lots of squid and cuttlefish and usually vomit out the indigestible beaks before digesting the rest.

But sometimes these indigestible bits make it through to the gut and bind together with bile, before sitting for many years in the whale’s intestine.

This forms a lump, which some believe the whale vomits out, hence the name whale vomit.

Others believe the ambergris is able to pass through the whale, so is in fact whale poo.

Is it illegal to sell whale vomit?

In some countries the use of ambergris is banned, along with all whale products. In other countries it is a grey area, and in a few it is legal.

It is illegal in the UK and Europe to extract ambergris from a whale – but it is okay to collect it from the sea or beach, because there it is a naturally-occurring waste product.

Sperm whales used to be hunted for ambergris, but all whales are now protected from hunting, with a very few exceptions.

There are fears that whaling may become more widespread as applications to control whale populations are increasing.

How much does whale vomit sell for?

Lucky finders of whale vomit have made millions of pounds.

A fortunate Thai fisherman, who usually earns 500 pounds a month, found 100 kilograms of ambergris in 2020 in possibly the world’s largest whale vomit find – worth 2.4 million British pounds.

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Naris Suwannasang, 60, noticed and collected some pale lumps on a Southern Thailand beach, and was later offered £23,740 per kilogram by a dealer.

In another, similar stroke of luck, a Thai woman found a lump of whale vomit worth £185,000 pounds on March 1, 2021.

Siriporn Niamrin, 49, dragged the seven kilogram, 12×24 inch oval back to her house after a rainstorm had washed it up on a Southern Thai beach on February 23.

Ambergris is described as smelling like poo when it first emerges, but musky when it dries.

It contains an odourless alcohol called ambrein, which makes the scent of perfumes linger longer.

Ambrein is also said to have aphrodisiac qualities.

Ambergris which is lighter in colour has more ambrein in it, so is more valuable, with white ambergris being used in the finest perfumes.

Whale vomit that has been floating about for a long time is lighter in colour because it oxidises.

Whale vomit is expensive and has been replaced by synthetic materials in most perfumes – although it is still used in Chanel No5.

It also used to be used as incense and medicinally.