Luca's Legacy Cleanup 2025

Luca’s Legacy Cleanup 2025

What a great turn out for the 7th annual Luca’s Legacy Cleanup event on Sunday 26th October! A record breaking number of volunteers joined the clean up across the two sites to clean up Mandurah’s waterways in memory of dolphin Luca.

LUCA’S STORY

Mandurah lost one of its most playful young dolphins in Luca, whose short life left a lasting impact. Born in April 2018 to Laika, Luca loved twirling and tossing seaweed through the water, but his curiosity put him in danger. In his short 18 months of life, he became entangled in fishing line three times. The first entanglement wrapped around his pectoral fin, body, and mouth, leaving a severe wound even after rescue. A second entanglement occurred around his dorsal fin and tail fluke, and despite a successful rescue and treatment, Luca was found entangled again just days later. During his third rescue, veterinarians discovered a severe bone infection from the first incident, and he tragically passed away that day.

Though heartbreaking, Luca’s story inspired real change. In response, the Clean Waterways Campaign was launched, with one of its key initiatives being the Luca’s Legacy Cleanup, which began in October 2019. Now an annual event, it unites the community to protect Mandurah’s dolphins and waterways, turning Luca’s short life into a lasting legacy of awareness and conservation.

7TH ANNUAL LUCA’S LEGACY CLEANUP

Luca’s Legacy Cleanup takes place each year across two sites, and this year we had a record-breaking 282 volunteers join in, collecting over 500 kg of rubbish, bringing the seven-year total to around 3,000 kg. Many of Mandurah’s community groups help run the event, including Estuary Guardians, Coastal Waste Warriors, WA Seabird Rescue, Peel-Harvey Catchment Council, and many more.

Site 1 at the Dawesville Cut is led by these amazing community groups, featuring kids’ activities, educational talks, appearances from Dudley the dolphin, along with of course the cleanup itself. A total of 230 volunteers collected just under 400 kg of rubbish at this site.

Site 2, led by Mandurah Cruises aboard the Dancing Dolphin, cruised to the Mandurah estuary islands, Creery Wetlands and Boundary Island, to tackle rubbish on these more secluded sites. 52 volunteers, many returning for yet another year, collected 122 kg, plus larger items including timber, chairs, a mattress, and large metal items.

From Site 2, the top 10 items collected were:

Broken glass (806)
Hard bits of plastic (385)
Rope (325)
Whole & bits of plastic bag (298)
Plastic food packaging (284)
Bottle tops (148)
Sanitary items (131)
Drink bottles (82)
Foam food packaging (76)
Clothing (72) & Recreational fishing items (72)

THE DATA

All of the rubbish collected is carefully sorted and recorded into categories using the Tangaroa Blue Data Sheet, which is then submitted to the Australian Marine Debris Database. This helps create a detailed overview of the types and amounts of marine debris affecting Australia, allowing community groups, scientists, and government bodies to develop strategies to tackle rubbish at its source. Identifying the origins of debris has led to innovative campaigns and effective solutions to reduce marine pollution in Mandurah.

At Site 2, we’ve seen a positive trend with the total amount of rubbish collected dropping by 7 kg compared to last year. The top items, however, remain consistent, with broken glass, ropes, and hard plastics still leading the list, highlighting the ongoing challenges in keeping our waterways clean.

A massive THANK YOU to everyone who came along to the event, you are all champions!