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 several 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 "pleasure ourselves on defending and spreading consciousness on the gorgeous waters we get to name residence," was shot just 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 they continued popping away with no care on the planet," the group posted in 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 reviews

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

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

“As a community, we share the duty to guard the environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez said in a statement. "I'm extremely pleased with our Unlawful Dumping Unit, for their 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 tales, saying he was not chargeable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I wish to put my coronary heart out and say how necessary it's to protect our surroundings," he said.

Cloud Nine, an event planning firm, additionally deflected accountability 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 always do. We're by no means in charge of removing balloon decorations," the statement read partly.

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

"I was fairly upset about it, that is our bay, that is our livelihood," Bruna mentioned. "I was here after they had been setting them up and then initially I did not really suppose much of it but I suppose as the day was done and they started popping away and letting all of them go into the water I was shocked."

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

"I discussed to them,' are you guys critical, is this something you're going to do proper now?' [They] form of simply blew me off, ignored me," Bruna said. "It was horrifying to see what they had been doing to the marine life and the waterways by just dumping all of these balloons into the water."

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee stated balloons could be mistaken for food by sea turtles and different marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to inner injury, starvation, and death.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.