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 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 gaggle who says they "pleasure ourselves on protecting and spreading consciousness on the attractive 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 have been ignored and so 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 individuals on a boat popping balloons into the ocean. NBC 6's Jamie Guirola studies

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

The man was recognized as 29-year-old David Torres-Bocanegra. He was charged with reckless disregard for the surroundings.

“As a community, we share the accountability to guard the environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez stated in an announcement. "I'm extraordinarily 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 may propose to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram stories, saying he was not liable for the balloon popping.

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

Cloud 9, an occasion planning firm, additionally deflected accountability in a press release on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor decorated the boat and left. We adorned the pier, finished the proposal, and cleaned up like we all the time do. We are by no means in charge of eradicating balloon decorations," the statement read partly.

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

"I used to be pretty upset about it, that is our bay, this is our livelihood," Bruna stated. "I was right here once they were setting them up after which initially I did not actually assume a lot of it but I assume as the day was achieved and so they started popping away and letting them all go into the water I was shocked."

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

"I mentioned to them,' are you guys serious, is this something you are going to do right now?' [They] type 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."

Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said balloons could be mistaken for meals by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to inner injury, starvation, and loss of life.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.