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

A man 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 near a Coconut Grove marina on Tuesday.

The video posted by MMG Outboard Division, a group who says they "pleasure ourselves on protecting and spreading consciousness on the attractive waters we get to name 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 this planet," the group posted in 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 studies

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

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

“As a neighborhood, we share the duty to protect our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez stated in a press release. "I am extremely 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 may propose to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram stories, saying he was not answerable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I wish to put my coronary heart out and say how essential it is to guard our surroundings," he said.

Cloud Nine, an occasion planning firm, also deflected duty in a press release on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor embellished the boat and left. We decorated the pier, finished the proposal, and cleaned up like we always do. We are never in command of eradicating balloon decorations," the statement learn partially.

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

"I used to be fairly upset about it, that is our bay, this is our livelihood," Bruna said. "I was here after they were setting them up and then initially I didn't really suppose much of it but I suppose as the day was finished and they began popping away and letting them all go into the water I was shocked."

One witness said the balloons might have been part of a wedding proposal. Bruna stated he confronted the folks.

"I discussed to them,' are you guys critical, is this one thing you're going to do right now?' [They] type of simply blew me off, ignored me," Bruna stated. "It was horrifying to see what they were 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 said balloons will be mistaken for food by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can result in inner injury, starvation, and dying.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.