Whale waste causing beach disputes

Collectors of a valuable whale byproduct fear someone will be killed during a "gold rush" on Northland beaches.

The whale byproduct is ambergris -- an excretion from the sperm whale used in perfume manufacturing and worth thousands of dollars per kilogram.

It washes up on Northland's west coast, where it has prompted fierce competition among beachcombers.

Dargaville couple Adrienne and Frans Beuse collect ambergris and also act as brokers to companies purchasing the lightweight, pumice-like substance.

The couple said they had received threats from other people desperate for ambergris.

Mrs Beuse claimed that in one incident, the couple's quad bike was forced off the beach by two vehicles, one behind and the other in front, edging them toward the tide.

"When we reported it, we were told by the police to either stay away from the beach or to take several people with us if we wanted to go down there but we feel sooner or later there's going to be a tragedy out there," she said.

Good quality ambergris could net from $7 plus per gram, and a 50g piece was worth around $350.

"If you were lucky to find 2kg of the stuff you could go and buy yourself a small, new car afterward," she said.

A Sunday drive to the beach could net $10,000 to $20,000 "just like that".

Mrs Beuse said only a few people could tell the "real McCoy" but dozens looked for it frequently.

Senior Sergeant Jack Dudley, of Dargaville police, said one of his staff was working on a case currently before the High Court believed to have stemmed from a falling out between two people over ambergris.

The beach was classed as a public road and if people wanted to make a complaint about someone driving dangerously on the beach, they were welcome to, he said.

Ambergris is a wax-like substance secreted only in sperm whale intestines, and it protects the whale's stomach from its abrasive diet of beaked squid.

The whales spit or vomit the black substance out and it turns white in the sun.

Ambergris has been used for centuries as a fixative for expensive perfumes, as it traps aroma on the skin for long periods.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) said up to 40kg of ambergris was exported overseas annually by about four individuals.

Exporters must have a permit, which cost $40 each time the substance is sent overseas, to countries such as France and Thailand.

DOC spokesman Wilbur Dovey said the United Nations wanted New Zealand to stop issuing permits earlier this year because it believed commercial trade should not be allowed in endangered species, which sperm whales are.

But DOC had decided to follow the European Union, which classifies ambergris as a waste product, and allow exporting to continue.

Australia does not allow the importation or exportation of ambergris.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)