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 a number of 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 gaggle who says they "pleasure ourselves on protecting and spreading awareness on the attractive waters we get to name dwelling," was shot just after 4 p.m. at Bayshore Landing 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 have been ignored and so they continued popping away with no care on the earth," the group posted of 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 stated Wednesday evening that they arrested one man and handed out 9 civil citations.

The person 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 the environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez said in a press release. "I'm extremely proud of 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 tales, saying he was not liable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I want to put my coronary heart out and say how important it's to guard our surroundings," he said.

Cloud 9, an event planning firm, also deflected duty in a press release on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor embellished the boat and left. We decorated the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we at all times do. We're by no means in command of eradicating balloon decorations," the assertion learn 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 stated. "I used to be right here once they have been setting them up after which initially I didn't really suppose much of it however I assume as the day was performed and they began popping away and letting them all go into the water I used to be shocked."

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

"I discussed to them,' are you guys critical, is this one thing you are going to do right now?' [They] kind of just 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 mentioned balloons may be mistaken for meals by sea turtles and different marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to inside injury, starvation, and dying.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.