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 protecting and spreading consciousness on the beautiful waters we get to name residence," was shot just after 4 p.m. at Bayshore Touchdown Marina.

Two folks 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 this planet," the group posted in 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 stated Wednesday night that they arrested one man and handed out nine civil citations.

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

“As a group, we share the duty to protect our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez stated in a statement. "I am extremely pleased with our Illegal 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 suggest to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram stories, saying he was not accountable for the balloon popping.

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

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

"Our balloon vendor embellished the boat and left. We embellished the pier, finished the proposal, and cleaned up like we all the time do. We are never in control of eradicating balloon decorations," the statement learn in part.

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

"I used to be pretty upset about it, this is our bay, this is our livelihood," Bruna stated. "I was here once they had been setting them up and then initially I did not actually think much of it but I suppose because the day was completed and so they began popping away and letting all of them go into the water I used to be shocked."

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

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

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee mentioned balloons can be mistaken for meals by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to internal harm, starvation, and loss of life.

Balloon releases have been illegal in Florida since 1989.