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 "pleasure ourselves on defending and spreading awareness on the gorgeous waters we get to call dwelling," 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 were ignored and they 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 individuals on a ship popping balloons into the ocean. NBC 6's Jamie Guirola stories

Miami-Dade Police said Wednesday evening 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 environment.

“As a neighborhood, we share the responsibility to guard the environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez mentioned in a press release. "I'm 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 might propose to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram stories, saying he was not liable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I need to put my coronary heart out and say how essential it is to protect our environment," he stated.

Cloud 9, an event planning firm, additionally deflected responsibility in a press release on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor embellished the boat and left. We adorned the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we always do. We are never accountable for removing balloon decorations," the statement learn 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 stated. "I used to be here once they have been setting them up after which initially I did not really assume much of it however I suppose as the day was carried out they usually started popping away and letting them all go into the water I was shocked."

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

"I mentioned to them,' are you guys severe, is that this one thing you're going to do right now?' [They] sort of just blew me off, ignored me," Bruna said. "It was horrifying to see what they have been 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 Fee said balloons might be mistaken for food by sea turtles and different marine animals, and if eaten, can result in internal injury, starvation, and demise.

Balloon releases have been illegal in Florida since 1989.