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

A man 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 gaggle who says they "pleasure ourselves on protecting and spreading awareness on the gorgeous waters we get to name residence," was shot just after 4 p.m. at Bayshore Landing 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 the earth," the group posted of their message.

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

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 atmosphere.

“As a neighborhood, we share the duty to protect our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez mentioned in an announcement. "I am extraordinarily proud of 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 vital it's to guard our surroundings," he said.

Cloud 9, an occasion planning company, also deflected duty in an announcement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor embellished the boat and left. We adorned the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we all the time do. We're never in control of removing balloon decorations," the assertion read partially.

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

"I was pretty upset about it, that is our bay, this is our livelihood," Bruna said. "I was right here after they were setting them up after which initially I didn't actually suppose a lot of it however I guess because the day was finished they usually started popping away and letting all of them go into the water I used to be shocked."

One witness mentioned the balloons could have been part of a marriage proposal. Bruna stated he confronted the people.

"I mentioned to them,' are you guys severe, is this one thing you're going to do right now?' [They] kind 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 just dumping all of these balloons into the water."

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

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.