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 bunch who says they "satisfaction ourselves on protecting and spreading awareness on the attractive waters we get to name home," was shot just after 4 p.m. at Bayshore Touchdown Marina.

Two individuals 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 they usually continued popping away with no care on the 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 stories

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

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

“As a neighborhood, we share the accountability to guard our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez stated in a press release. "I am extraordinarily proud of our Illegal 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 tales, saying he was not answerable for the balloon popping.

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

Cloud 9, an occasion planning firm, also deflected duty in a statement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor embellished the boat and left. We embellished the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we all the time do. We are by no means in control of removing balloon decorations," the statement learn partly.

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

"I was pretty upset about it, this is our bay, this is our livelihood," Bruna said. "I used to be right here after 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 achieved and so they started popping away and letting them all go into the water I used to be shocked."

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

"I discussed to them,' are you guys serious, is that this something you're going to do proper now?' [They] form of just blew me off, ignored me," Bruna stated. "It was horrifying to see what they were 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 will be mistaken for food by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to inner harm, hunger, and dying.

Balloon releases have been illegal in Florida since 1989.