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

A person has been arrested after cellphone video captured what gave the impression 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 bunch who says they "pride ourselves on defending and spreading awareness on the beautiful waters we get to call home," was shot just after 4 p.m. at Bayshore Touchdown Marina.

Two people onboard the boat are seen popping balloons and letting them fall into the water.

"As we handed them and expressed our disagreement, we had been ignored they usually continued popping away with no care on this 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 night time 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 atmosphere.

“As a neighborhood, we share the duty to guard our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez said in a statement. "I am extremely pleased with our Illegal 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 stories, saying he was not chargeable 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 stated.

Cloud 9, an occasion planning company, also deflected accountability in an announcement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor adorned the boat and left. We adorned the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we all the time do. We're by no means in command of eradicating balloon decorations," the assertion read in part.

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

"I was pretty upset about it, that is our bay, this is our livelihood," Bruna mentioned. "I was right here when they had been setting them up and then initially I did not actually suppose a lot of it but I assume because the day was completed and they started popping away and letting all of them 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 serious, is this something you're going to do right now?' [They] sort of simply blew me off, ignored me," Bruna said. "It was horrifying to see what they have been doing to the marine life and the waterways by simply dumping all of those balloons into the water."

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee mentioned balloons can be mistaken for meals by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to internal damage, starvation, and death.

Balloon releases have been illegal in Florida since 1989.