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 several 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 "pride ourselves on defending and spreading awareness on the attractive waters we get to call dwelling," was shot just 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 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 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 evening 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 environment.

“As a neighborhood, we share the responsibility to protect our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez said in an announcement. "I'm extraordinarily 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 propose to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram tales, saying he was not responsible for the balloon popping.

"First off, I need to put my coronary heart out and say how important it's to protect our surroundings," he stated.

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

"Our balloon vendor decorated the boat and left. We embellished the pier, finished the proposal, and cleaned up like we always do. We're by no means in control of removing balloon decorations," the statement learn in part.

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

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

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

"I mentioned to them,' are you guys severe, is that this one thing you are going to do proper now?' [They] form of just 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 simply dumping all of those balloons into the water."

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

Balloon releases have been illegal in Florida since 1989.