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 a number of 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 gaggle who says they "delight ourselves on protecting and spreading awareness on the beautiful 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 had been ignored and so they continued popping away with no care on this 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 reports

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

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

“As a community, we share the duty to protect our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez stated in a statement. "I'm extraordinarily proud of 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 could propose to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram stories, saying he was not answerable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I need to put my heart out and say how vital it's to guard our environment," he stated.

Cloud 9, an occasion planning company, also deflected responsibility in an announcement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor embellished the boat and left. We adorned the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we at all times do. We are never in command of eradicating balloon decorations," the assertion read in part.

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

"I was pretty upset about it, this is our bay, that is our livelihood," Bruna mentioned. "I was right here after they have been setting them up after which initially I did not really suppose a lot of it but I guess because the day was carried out and they began popping away and letting all of them go into the water I used to be shocked."

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

"I discussed to them,' are you guys severe, is that this one thing you're going to do right now?' [They] form of just blew me off, ignored me," Bruna stated. "It was horrifying to see what they had been doing to the marine life and the waterways by just dumping all of those balloons into the water."

Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee mentioned balloons might be mistaken for meals by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to internal injury, starvation, and loss of life.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.