Intentional mass balloon releases and popping has been the target of warnings from environmental groups, cities and states with new laws to ban the activity to reduce the chance of wildlife being harmed by the trash.
For two people in Florida, balloons led to arrests for willful/reckless disregard for the environment while 10 people and companies have been issued $25,000 in fines.
On May 10, the Miami Herald writes, yacht broker Esteban Bruna was moving a client's vessel at a marina on Biscayne Bay. He saw a group including David S. Torres-Bocanegra, Martina Gaspoz and others popping 50 balloons on the bow of another yacht, allowing the debris to fall into the water and float away.
Bruna took a video and posted it to social media, where it got local officials' attention.
The balloons were apparently part of a marriage proposal. Miami-Dade police fined event planners, the yacht maintenance and charter companies and individuals.
"As a community, we share the responsibility to protect our environment," Miami-Dade police interim Director George A. Perez said in a news release. "Our coastal waterways are the natural beauty of our county, and our marine life depend on us to keep them safe."