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 several 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 "satisfaction ourselves on protecting and spreading awareness on the beautiful waters we get to call residence," 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 people on a ship popping balloons into the ocean. NBC 6's Jamie Guirola experiences

Miami-Dade Police mentioned Wednesday night time 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 community, we share the responsibility to guard our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez mentioned in an announcement. "I am extremely proud of 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 tales, saying he was not accountable for the balloon popping.

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

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

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

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

"I was fairly upset about it, this is our bay, this is our livelihood," Bruna stated. "I was here after they have been setting them up after which initially I didn't actually assume much of it however I suppose as the day was executed and so they started popping away and letting them all go into the water I was shocked."

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

"I discussed to them,' are you guys critical, is that this something you are going to do proper now?' [They] form of just 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 simply dumping all of these balloons into the water."

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said balloons could be mistaken for food by sea turtles and different marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to inside damage, starvation, and dying.

Balloon releases have been illegal in Florida since 1989.