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 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 gaggle who says they "delight ourselves on protecting and spreading consciousness on the beautiful waters we get to call house," 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 passed 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 individuals on a ship popping balloons into the ocean. NBC 6's Jamie Guirola experiences

Miami-Dade Police mentioned Wednesday evening 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 atmosphere.

“As a group, we share the accountability to guard the environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez mentioned in an announcement. "I am extraordinarily 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 propose to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram tales, saying he was not answerable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I want to put my coronary heart out and say how necessary it's to guard our surroundings," he mentioned.

Cloud 9, an occasion planning firm, also deflected duty in a press release 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 never in control of eradicating balloon decorations," the statement read partly.

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

"I was fairly upset about it, this is our bay, this is our livelihood," Bruna said. "I was here after they had been setting them up after which initially I didn't actually suppose a lot of it but I assume as the day was performed and they started popping away and letting all of them go into the water I used to be shocked."

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

"I mentioned to them,' are you guys serious, is that this something you're going to do right now?' [They] sort 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 these balloons into the water."

Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission mentioned balloons may be mistaken for food by sea turtles and different marine animals, and if eaten, can result in internal damage, starvation, and demise.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.