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 close to a Coconut Grove marina on Tuesday.

The video posted by MMG Outboard Division, a bunch who says they "pleasure ourselves on defending and spreading awareness on the gorgeous waters we get to call residence," 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 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 stories

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

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

“As a community, we share the responsibility to protect the environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez said in a press release. "I'm extremely pleased with our Unlawful Dumping Unit, for their thorough investigation and swift conclusion to this case."

David Torres-Bocanegra

Tom Rivas, who rented the boat so he might suggest to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram tales, saying he was not chargeable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I need to put my coronary heart out and say how essential it is to guard our environment," he mentioned.

Cloud 9, an event planning company, also deflected responsibility in a statement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor decorated the boat and left. We decorated the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we always do. We are never in command of eradicating balloon decorations," the assertion read partially.

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

"I was fairly upset about it, this is our bay, that is our livelihood," Bruna said. "I used to be here once they had been setting them up after which initially I didn't actually suppose a lot of it but I guess as the day was accomplished and so they started popping away and letting them all go into the water I was shocked."

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

"I mentioned to them,' are you guys severe, is this something you are going to do proper now?' [They] kind 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 mentioned balloons could be mistaken for meals by sea turtles and different marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to inside harm, starvation, and loss of life.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.