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 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 bunch who says they "delight ourselves on protecting and spreading awareness on the attractive waters we get to call house," was shot simply after 4 p.m. at Bayshore Touchdown 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 and they continued popping away with no care on the earth," the group posted in their message.

Miami-Dade police have made an arrest after cellphone video surfaced of people on a ship 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 9 civil citations.

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

“As a group, we share the duty to guard the environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez said in a press release. "I am 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 suggest to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram stories, saying he was not responsible for the balloon popping.

"First off, I wish to put my heart out and say how necessary it's to guard our environment," he stated.

Cloud 9, an occasion planning company, additionally deflected duty in an announcement 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 charge of removing balloon decorations," the statement learn in part.

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

"I used to be pretty 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 after which initially I didn't really suppose a lot of it however I assume because the day was carried out and they began popping away and letting them all go into the water I used to be shocked."

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

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

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stated balloons could be mistaken for meals by sea turtles and different marine animals, and if eaten, can result in internal injury, hunger, and demise.

Balloon releases have been illegal in Florida since 1989.