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 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 awareness on the beautiful waters we get to name 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 so they continued popping away with no care on the planet," 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 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 duty to protect our 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 might suggest to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram stories, saying he was not chargeable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I want to put my heart out and say how necessary it is to protect our surroundings," he said.

Cloud Nine, an occasion planning firm, also deflected duty in a statement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor adorned the boat and left. We decorated the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we at all times do. We are never in command of eradicating balloon decorations," the statement read in part.

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

"I was fairly upset about it, that is our bay, that is our livelihood," Bruna stated. "I was right here when they had been setting them up after which initially I did not really suppose a lot of it but I guess as the day was carried out and they began popping away and letting all of them go into the water I used to be shocked."

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

"I discussed to them,' are you guys critical, is this one thing you're going to do proper now?' [They] sort of just blew me off, ignored me," Bruna said. "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."

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said balloons will be mistaken for food by sea turtles and different marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to internal harm, hunger, and demise.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.