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 bunch who says they "pleasure ourselves on defending and spreading consciousness on the beautiful waters we get to name house," was shot just 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 on the planet," the group posted of 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 studies

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

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

“As a neighborhood, we share the responsibility to protect our environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez stated in a statement. "I'm extremely happy 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 suggest 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 coronary heart out and say how important it is to protect our surroundings," he said.

Cloud Nine, an occasion planning company, additionally deflected accountability in a statement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor adorned the boat and left. We decorated the pier, finished the proposal, and cleaned up like we all the time do. We are by no means in control of removing balloon decorations," the assertion learn partly.

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

"I used to be fairly upset about it, this is our bay, this is our livelihood," Bruna mentioned. "I was right here after they were setting them up and then initially I didn't actually suppose a lot of it however I guess as the day was performed they usually started popping away and letting all of them go into the water I used to be shocked."

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

"I discussed to them,' are you guys serious, is that this something you're going to do proper now?' [They] sort of simply blew me off, ignored me," Bruna stated. "It was horrifying to see what they have 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 stated balloons may be mistaken for food by sea turtles and different marine animals, and if eaten, can result in inside harm, hunger, and death.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.