Whale Vomit Catch Will Make Fishermen Millionaires

A trio of fishermen in Oman made the catch of a lifetime when they came upon something far more valuable than their normal haul: 176 pounds (80 kilograms) of sperm-whale vomit.

The substance – actually an intestinal secretion called ambergris, though it's known colloquially as "vomit" – could fetch close to US $3 million.

Ambergris, sometimes called "floating gold," is so highly valued because it's a key ingredient in high-end fragrances, helping pricey scents linger longer on human skin.

RELATED: $70K Worth of Whale Vomit Found By UK Couple

According to the Times of Oman, the valuable vomit was found off Qurayat, Oman by fisherman Khalid Al Sinani and two friends. The men spied a floating chunk of ambergris and used ropes to haul it in.

"After we made sure it was ambergris, we started cutting it in order to dry and sell it later," Al Sinani told the site.

WATCH VIDEO: Why is Whale Vomit So Valuable?

A Saudi trader offered the fishermen 13,500 Omani rials per kilogram, which would amount to 1,080,000 rials (US $2.8 million at current exchange rates). An auction will likely determine the final price, however.

Ambergris is produced in the intestines of sperm whales. The substance helps loosen any hard or sharp things that the whales may have ingested. When it's expelled, it hardens as it floats on the water. Typical ambergris finds happen on shore, after the pungent objects have washed up.

The value of the special catch dwarfs recent finds such as the found-by-uk-couple-1771198147.html?slide=lydOhB">$70K worth found by a UK couple in 2013, the $65K worth by an English 8-year-old in 2012 or the $180K in ambergris found in 2013 by a man and his dog on a beach near Morecambe, England.

Top Photo: This chunk of ambergris was found on a UK beach in 2013. Credit: Youtube/Channel 4 News