# Pieterburen seal centre needs €2.8m to stay open

> The seal centre in Lauwersoog has delayed its planned bankruptcy filing after a wave of donor support, but says its finances remain very vulnerable.

Society · published 2026-10-23 17:34 · https://nlnow.nl/a/pieterburen-seal-centre-delays-bankruptcy-filing-by-a-week/

The Werelderfgoedcentrum Waddenzee (WEC), the Lauwersoog centre that runs the Pieterburen seal centre foundation, is postponing its planned bankruptcy filing by a week. The foundation's director and supervisory board decided on the delay, the organisation says.

On 12 October the foundation announced it would have to file for bankruptcy within two weeks if no solution emerged. "If no solution comes, we must close our doors and can no longer take in and care for seals in need," the organisation wrote then. It says it needs €2.8m to keep the centre afloat.

The organisation calls the delay "cautiously positive news". It says the "enormous support from donors", together with talks behind the scenes with several parties, is reason to look further at ways to keep the centre open.

The foundation stresses, however, that the problems are not solved. The financial situation remains "very vulnerable" and there is no certainty about a lasting solution, it says.

The centre opened its new site in Lauwersoog in April 2025. The foundation says setting up the new building and bringing it into use brought unexpected costs at a time when its finances were already fragile.

**What happens next**

- On Wednesday, Het Hogeland municipal council discusses the centre's future, and the WEC team presents its petition to the municipality.
- On Friday 30 October, the organisation says, it will draw up the balance sheet again and decide whether there is enough concrete prospect to continue.

## Background

- **Werelderfgoedcentrum Waddenzee (WEC)**: The World Heritage Centre Wadden Sea is a centre in Lauwersoog, in the north of the Netherlands, that serves as a visitor and information hub for the Dutch Wadden Sea, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It houses several organisations working on the Wadden Sea, including the Pieterburen seal centre foundation. The name stays in Dutch here because it is the official title of the centre.

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