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

A person 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 gaggle who says they "satisfaction ourselves on defending and spreading consciousness on the attractive waters we get to call residence," 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 so they continued popping away with no care on the earth," the group posted of their message.

Miami-Dade police have made an arrest after cellphone video surfaced of individuals on a boat popping balloons into the ocean. NBC 6's Jamie Guirola reviews

Miami-Dade Police mentioned Wednesday night 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 environment.

“As a community, we share the accountability to guard our environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez said in a press release. "I am extremely proud of 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 might propose to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram stories, saying he was not chargeable for the balloon popping.

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

Cloud 9, an event planning company, also deflected accountability in an announcement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor embellished the boat and left. We decorated the pier, finished the proposal, and cleaned up like we always do. We're never in command of eradicating balloon decorations," the assertion read partly.

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

"I was pretty upset about it, that is our bay, this is our livelihood," Bruna said. "I used to be right here when they have been setting them up after which initially I did not actually assume much of it however I assume because the day was achieved and so they started popping away and letting all of them go into the water I used to be shocked."

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

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

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

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.