Luca the dolphin was 18 months old when he became entangled in discarded fishing line.

Key points: Mandurah has 80 resident dolphins, which are among its biggest tourism draw cards

Mandurah has 80 resident dolphins, which are among its biggest tourism draw cards But there are fears about the impact of ocean rubbish after one dolphin's death

But there are fears about the impact of ocean rubbish after one dolphin's death It is hoped this weekend's clean-up will help protect them and educate people

It was the third time in a year he'd become entangled, and despite rescue attempts he did not survive.

Now the coastal community of Mandurah, south of Perth, is rallying together to clean its waterways of rubbish in an attempt to protect the rest of the local dolphin population from a similar fate.

The area is the year-round home of 80 dolphins, and they are among its biggest tourism draw cards.

Natalie Goddard has spent seven years as a volunteer dolphin rescuer and said losing Luca was "absolutely heartbreaking".

"Unfortunately he got entangled so many times, and it caused infection and so forth in his body as well," she said.

"As much as we did all we could, we lost poor Luca."

Rescuers were unable to save Luca but say they do not want his death to be in vain. ( Supplied: DBCA )

Ms Goddard said dolphins were at the heart of Mandurah.

"You can be going for a walk along the foreshore or out on your boat, and as a community member you'll see them and you identify with them and you connect with them," she said.

"They've all got different names and they've all got different stories.

"We don't want [Luca's] death to be in vain, so what we've created is 'Luca's legacy'."

Clean-up effort grows as rubbish increases

This weekend's clean-up event has brought a number of organisations and community groups together, and organisers hope it is the largest one yet.

There will be two main clean-up sites where helpers can scour the banks, while a local dive crew will descend under popular fishing jetties to make sure they are clear of rubbish.

Kirstin Field recently started the Coastal Waste Warriors group and said she had noticed an increase in the amount of rubbish washing up on shore.

Coastal Waste Warriors organiser Kirstin Field is among those pitching in for the clean-up. ( ABC News: Benjamin Gubana )

"A lot of what we're finding is single-use plastics floating around in the water, cigarette butts … this is all affecting our marine life and wildlife as well," she said.

"We're finding a lot of microplastics that are already floating out there in the ocean and are washing up on our beaches and our waterways.

"Commercial fishing rope, fishing line … this is an increasing issue."

Call for more marine wildlife help

Despite Mandurah being Western Australia's second-largest city, there is no permanent wildlife officer or marine ranger, with rescues left up to a handful of volunteers.

It has led to calls for a permanent response capability in the area.

Ms Goddard said the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions [DBCA] was stretched with its resources.

Dolphin rescuer Natalie Goddard is calling for more resources to help out volunteers. ( ABC News: Benjamin Gubana )

"So for us if there's an emergency or something like that, we have to wait for them to be able to come down [from Perth] and get to us," she said.

"So it is really hard for us in that instance.

"It would be great to see a wildlife officer based in Mandurah and to have a marine ranger as well, so not just volunteers, but having those actual resources in place would be absolutely fantastic."

Local groups hope the weekend's event will also help educate the community.

"There are bins set up all around the estuary and foreshore where fishers can put their hooks and extra lines in, rather than them getting tangled around the jetties," said Jo Garvey from the Peel Harvey Catchment Council.

"It's just fantastic to be part of all these projects going on, and it's such a great community here for environmental projects."