Arrest Made in Balloon Littering Investigation at Coconut Grove Marina – NBC 6 South Florida

A person has been arrested after cellphone video captured what seemed to be a number of boaters popping balloons and letting the trash fall into the water near a Coconut Grove marina on Tuesday.

The video posted by MMG Outboard Division, a bunch who says they "pride ourselves on defending and spreading awareness on the gorgeous waters we get to call residence," was shot just after 4 p.m. at Bayshore Touchdown Marina.

Two individuals onboard the boat are seen popping balloons and letting them fall into the water.

"As we handed them and expressed our disagreement, we were ignored and so they continued popping away with no care on the earth," the group posted of their message.

Miami-Dade police have made an arrest after cellphone video surfaced of individuals on a boat popping balloons into the ocean. NBC 6's Jamie Guirola reports

Miami-Dade Police stated Wednesday night that they arrested one man and handed out nine civil citations.

The person was identified as 29-year-old David Torres-Bocanegra. He was charged with reckless disregard for the environment.

“As a community, we share the responsibility to protect our environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez said in a statement. "I'm extremely happy with our Unlawful Dumping Unit, for his or her thorough investigation and swift conclusion to this case."

David Torres-Bocanegra

Tom Rivas, who rented the boat so he might propose to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram tales, saying he was not chargeable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I need to put my heart out and say how essential it's to guard our surroundings," he mentioned.

Cloud Nine, an event planning company, additionally deflected accountability in a statement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor decorated the boat and left. We decorated the pier, finished the proposal, and cleaned up like we always do. We are by no means in control of eradicating balloon decorations," the assertion read partially.

Esteban Bruna, a yacht dealer, shot the cellphone video.

"I used to be fairly upset about it, that is our bay, that is our livelihood," Bruna stated. "I was here when they had been setting them up after which initially I didn't really think much of it but I suppose as the day was executed and so they began popping away and letting all of them go into the water I used to be shocked."

One witness stated the balloons may have been part of a wedding proposal. Bruna mentioned he confronted the folks.

"I discussed to them,' are you guys serious, is that this something you're going to do right now?' [They] sort of just blew me off, ignored me," Bruna mentioned. "It was horrifying to see what they were doing to the marine life and the waterways by simply dumping all of those balloons into the water."

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission mentioned balloons may be mistaken for food by sea turtles and different marine animals, and if eaten, can result in inside damage, hunger, and loss of life.

Balloon releases have been illegal in Florida since 1989.