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 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 group who says they "satisfaction ourselves on defending and spreading awareness on the attractive 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 and 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 people on a boat popping balloons into the ocean. NBC 6's Jamie Guirola reviews

Miami-Dade Police said Wednesday night time that they arrested one man and handed out nine civil citations.

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

“As a neighborhood, we share the accountability to protect our environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez stated in an announcement. "I am extremely happy 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 tales, saying he was not answerable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I need to put my heart out and say how necessary it's to guard the environment," he said.

Cloud 9, an event planning firm, additionally deflected responsibility in a statement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor adorned the boat and left. We embellished the pier, finished the proposal, and cleaned up like we always do. We're never in control of removing balloon decorations," the assertion learn in part.

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

"I used to be fairly upset about it, that is our bay, that is our livelihood," Bruna said. "I used to be here when they were setting them up and then initially I didn't really think a lot of it however I suppose because the day was completed they usually started popping away and letting all of them go into the water I was shocked."

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

"I discussed to them,' are you guys severe, is this something you're going to do proper now?' [They] sort 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 simply dumping all of these balloons into the water."

Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee said balloons can be mistaken for food by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can result in internal harm, starvation, and death.

Balloon releases have been illegal in Florida since 1989.