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

A person has been arrested after cellphone video captured what appeared 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 "satisfaction ourselves on protecting and spreading awareness on the beautiful waters we get to call dwelling," was shot simply 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 they usually 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 people on a boat popping balloons into the ocean. NBC 6's Jamie Guirola studies

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

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

“As a neighborhood, we share the duty to guard our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez mentioned in an announcement. "I'm extremely happy 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 could suggest to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram tales, saying he was not responsible for the balloon popping.

"First off, I wish to put my coronary heart out and say how essential it is to guard the environment," he said.

Cloud 9, an event planning company, additionally deflected duty in a statement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor decorated the boat and left. We adorned the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we always do. We're never accountable for removing balloon decorations," the assertion read partially.

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

"I used to be fairly upset about it, that is our bay, this is our livelihood," Bruna mentioned. "I used to be right here after they had been setting them up and then initially I didn't actually assume much of it however I suppose because the day was executed and they began popping away and letting them all go into the water I was shocked."

One witness mentioned the balloons might have been a part of a wedding 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 right now?' [They] type of simply blew me off, ignored me," Bruna stated. "It was horrifying to see what they have been doing to the marine life and the waterways by just dumping all of these balloons into the water."

Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee mentioned balloons can be mistaken for food by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can result in inside harm, hunger, and death.

Balloon releases have been illegal in Florida since 1989.