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 group who says they "delight ourselves on defending and spreading awareness on the beautiful waters we get to name residence," was shot simply 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 handed them and expressed our disagreement, we have been ignored and so they continued popping away with no care on this planet," 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 mentioned Wednesday evening 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 atmosphere.

“As a neighborhood, we share the duty to protect our environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez mentioned in a statement. "I am extremely pleased 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 could suggest to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram stories, saying he was not answerable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I want to put my coronary heart out and say how important it's to protect our environment," he said.

Cloud Nine, an occasion planning company, also deflected duty in a statement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor decorated the boat and left. We embellished the pier, finished the proposal, and cleaned up like we always do. We are never in charge of removing balloon decorations," the assertion read partly.

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 mentioned. "I used to be right here once they had been setting them up and then initially I did not really suppose a lot of it but I suppose as 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 mentioned the balloons may have been part of a marriage proposal. Bruna said he confronted the folks.

"I mentioned to them,' are you guys critical, is that this one thing you're going to do proper now?' [They] type of simply blew me off, ignored me," Bruna stated. "It was horrifying to see what they were 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 Commission said balloons can be mistaken for meals by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can result in inside injury, starvation, and loss of life.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.