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 several 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 group who says they "pride ourselves on defending and spreading consciousness on the gorgeous waters we get to name house," was shot simply after 4 p.m. at Bayshore Touchdown Marina.

Two people onboard the boat are seen popping balloons and letting them fall into the water.

"As we passed them and expressed our disagreement, we had been ignored and so 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 ship popping balloons into the ocean. NBC 6's Jamie Guirola reports

Miami-Dade Police mentioned Wednesday night 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 environment.

“As a neighborhood, we share the responsibility to guard the environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez said in a statement. "I am 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 could propose 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 is to protect our surroundings," he mentioned.

Cloud 9, an event planning company, also deflected responsibility in a press release 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're never 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, this is our livelihood," Bruna stated. "I used to be here after they had been setting them up and then initially I did not really think a lot of it but I suppose because the day was carried out they usually started popping away and letting them all go into the water I was shocked."

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

"I mentioned to them,' are you guys critical, is that this something you're going to do proper now?' [They] form of simply blew me off, ignored me," Bruna mentioned. "It was horrifying to see what they have been doing to the marine life and the waterways by just dumping all of those balloons into the water."

Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee mentioned balloons will be mistaken for food by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to inside damage, starvation, and demise.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.