Seehundstation Norddeich

In the early 1970s, as seal populations in the Wadden Sea reached a critical low due to hunting, pollution, and disease, two seal hunters –  Winhold Schumann and Erwin Manninga – began nurturing orphaned seal pups, aiming to restore the fragile population. Their grassroots efforts laid the foundation for what would become the Seehundstation Norddeich, officially established in 1980 after the founding of the Verein zur Erforschung und Erhaltung des Seehundes e.V. in 1978.

The station’s mission gained national attention in 1988, when the phocine distemper virus swept through the North Sea, killing thousands of seals. Since then, Norddeich has grown into one of Germany’s two major seal rescue centers, caring for 80 to 180 orphaned harbor seals and grey seals annually. The facility, operating as the sole licensed rehabilitation facility for seals in Niedersachsen, is also a hub for research, public education, and environmental outreach. While best known for their work with seals, Seehundstation Norddeich also cares for birds and covers the Wadden Sea, estuaries, rivers, islands, and mainland areas of Niedersachsen.

In 2006, the station expanded with the opening of the Waloseum, a museum and quarantine facility housed in the former Norddeich Radio building. Its centerpiece is the 15-meter skeleton of a stranded sperm whale, surrounded by interactive exhibits on marine mammals, seabirds, and the unique ecosystem of the Wadden Sea.