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

A man 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 "satisfaction ourselves on defending and spreading awareness on the gorgeous waters we get to call dwelling," 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 handed them and expressed our disagreement, we had been ignored and so they 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 said Wednesday night time that they arrested one man and handed out 9 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 duty to protect our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez stated in an announcement. "I am extraordinarily 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 might propose to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram stories, saying he was not chargeable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I need to put my coronary heart out and say how essential it's to protect our environment," he said.

Cloud 9, an event planning company, also deflected responsibility in a press release on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor embellished the boat and left. We embellished the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we all the time do. We are by no means answerable for removing balloon decorations," the statement learn partially.

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

"I used to be pretty upset about it, this is our bay, that is our livelihood," Bruna said. "I was here when they had been setting them up after which initially I didn't actually suppose a lot of it however I suppose because the day was achieved and they started popping away and letting them all go into the water I used to be shocked."

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

"I mentioned to them,' are you guys serious, is that this something you are going to do proper now?' [They] kind of simply blew me off, ignored me," Bruna mentioned. "It was horrifying to see what they were 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 stated balloons might be mistaken for food by sea turtles and different marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to internal damage, hunger, and loss of life.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.