They came across a giant sperm whale corpse, which contained a mammoth chunk of ambergris, a rare substance known as “floating gold” or “treasure of the sea”.

[...] “More than 100 fishermen participated in bringing the whale to the coast, cutting it open and then guarding the ambergris and selling it,” Abdulrahman said.

To avoid any disputes, the fishermen agreed on a percentage for each man before selling the ambergris. They then sold it for 1.3bn Yemeni rials, which is worth about $1.5 million on the street.

— Read more in Yemen: Fishermen find valuable 'whale vomit' and become rich overnight at Middle East Eye. Hat tip to Kevin!