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

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

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

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

"As we passed them and expressed our disagreement, we have been ignored and 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 people on a ship popping balloons into the ocean. NBC 6's Jamie Guirola stories

Miami-Dade Police said Wednesday night that they arrested one man and handed out 9 civil citations.

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

“As a community, we share the responsibility to protect our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez stated in an announcement. "I'm extremely pleased with our Unlawful Dumping Unit, for their thorough investigation and swift conclusion to this case."

David Torres-Bocanegra

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

"First off, I need to put my coronary heart out and say how important it is to guard the environment," he stated.

Cloud 9, an occasion planning company, additionally deflected accountability in a statement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor decorated the boat and left. We embellished the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we always do. We are never answerable for eradicating balloon decorations," the statement read in part.

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

"I was fairly upset about it, that is our bay, this is our livelihood," Bruna stated. "I used to be here after they have been setting them up after which initially I did not really think much of it but I suppose because the day was carried out and so they started popping away and letting all of them go into the water I used to be shocked."

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

"I mentioned to them,' are you guys serious, is this one thing you're going to do proper now?' [They] kind of simply blew me off, ignored me," Bruna mentioned. "It was horrifying to see what they had been doing to the marine life and the waterways by simply dumping all of those balloons into the water."

Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission mentioned balloons might be mistaken for meals by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to internal injury, starvation, and death.

Balloon releases have been illegal in Florida since 1989.