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 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 bunch who says they "pleasure ourselves on defending and spreading consciousness on the attractive waters we get to name dwelling," was shot simply after 4 p.m. at Bayshore Landing 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 were ignored they usually continued popping away with no care in the world," 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 mentioned Wednesday night time that they arrested one man and handed out nine civil citations.

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

“As a group, we share the accountability to guard our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez stated in a press release. "I'm extremely happy with 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 might propose to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram tales, saying he was not chargeable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I need to put my heart out and say how necessary it is to guard our environment," he mentioned.

Cloud 9, an event planning firm, additionally deflected responsibility in a press release on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor decorated the boat and left. We embellished the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we all the time do. We're never in charge of eradicating balloon decorations," the assertion learn in part.

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

"I used to be fairly upset about it, this is our bay, this is our livelihood," Bruna said. "I was right here after they have been setting them up and then initially I did not really suppose a lot of it but I assume as the day was carried out they usually started popping away and letting them all go into the water I used to be shocked."

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

"I discussed to them,' are you guys critical, is that this one thing you're going to do proper now?' [They] kind of just blew me off, ignored me," Bruna mentioned. "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."

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission mentioned balloons may be mistaken for food by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to internal harm, starvation, and dying.

Balloon releases have been illegal in Florida since 1989.