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

A man has been arrested after cellphone video captured what seemed 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 consciousness on the beautiful 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 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 reviews

Miami-Dade Police said Wednesday evening 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 surroundings.

“As a neighborhood, we share the responsibility to guard our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez said in a press release. "I'm extremely happy with 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 may suggest to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram stories, saying he was not liable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I wish to put my coronary heart out and say how necessary it's to protect our surroundings," he mentioned.

Cloud Nine, an event planning firm, also deflected accountability in a press release on Instagram.

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

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

"I was fairly upset about it, this is our bay, that is our livelihood," Bruna stated. "I was here once they have been setting them up after which initially I didn't really think a lot of it however I assume as the day was executed and so they began popping away and letting them all go into the water I was shocked."

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

"I discussed to them,' are you guys critical, is that this one thing you're going to do proper now?' [They] type of simply blew me off, ignored me," Bruna said. "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 may be mistaken for food by sea turtles and different marine animals, and if eaten, can result in inner injury, starvation, and death.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.