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 several 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 "satisfaction ourselves on defending and spreading consciousness on the gorgeous waters we get to call home," was shot just after 4 p.m. at Bayshore Landing Marina.

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

"As we handed 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 experiences

Miami-Dade Police mentioned Wednesday night that they arrested one man and handed out 9 civil citations.

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

“As a group, we share the accountability to guard our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez mentioned in a press release. "I am extremely proud of 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 could propose to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram stories, saying he was not accountable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I wish to put my heart out and say how essential it is to protect the environment," he stated.

Cloud 9, an event planning firm, also deflected accountability in a statement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor decorated the boat and left. We adorned the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we always do. We're by no means in control of removing balloon decorations," the statement learn partly.

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

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

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

"I discussed to them,' are you guys serious, is this something you're going to do right now?' [They] form of just blew me off, ignored me," Bruna said. "It was horrifying to see what they had been doing to the marine life and the waterways by just dumping all of those balloons into the water."

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee stated balloons might be mistaken for food by sea turtles and different marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to inner damage, hunger, and death.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.