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

A person has been arrested after cellphone video captured what appeared 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 bunch who says they "satisfaction ourselves on protecting and spreading awareness on the gorgeous waters we get to call home," 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 handed them and expressed our disagreement, we have been ignored and so they 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 people on a boat popping balloons into the ocean. NBC 6's Jamie Guirola reports

Miami-Dade Police mentioned 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 community, we share the accountability to guard our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez said in a statement. "I'm extremely 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 could 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 heart out and say how essential it is to guard the environment," he stated.

Cloud 9, an event planning company, additionally deflected duty in an announcement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor adorned the boat and left. We embellished the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we at all times do. We are by no means in command of eradicating balloon decorations," the assertion learn partially.

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

"I was pretty upset about it, that is our bay, this is our livelihood," Bruna said. "I used to be right here once they were setting them up and then initially I didn't actually assume a lot of it but I suppose because the day was executed and they began 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 stated he confronted the people.

"I discussed to them,' are you guys serious, is that this one thing 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 simply dumping all of these balloons into the water."

Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stated balloons can be mistaken for food by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can result in inside damage, hunger, and dying.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.