People Are Furious At Video Of Florida Boaters Dumping Trash Into The Ocean
Florida officials say they have identified the members of a group of young boaters who were seen on video dumping their trash into the open ocean just off the coast of Boca Raton over the weekend.
Footage of the incident, captured on YouTube and Instagram by the Miami-based content creator Wavy Boats, shows the group leaving a local event called “Boca Bash” in a boat. They can be seen drinking and, later, emptying two garbage cans filled with loose trash into the water roughly a mile and a half offshore.
Drone footage shows much of the debris, which includes cans, potato chip bags and plastic cups, floating on the surface as the boaters head back to the event.
By Wednesday, the video had been viewed more than 350,000 times on YouTube, drawing a blistering response across social media.
Watch Wavy Boats’ video below:
Speaking to ABC News on Wednesday, Florida Fish and Wildlife’s public information officer Tyson Matthews said that the people in the video had been found and identified. Given that some of the boaters are believed to be minors, he did not disclose their names.
“We know where the violation occurred,” Matthews said. “It’s just a matter of following through and applying the appropriate charges now.”
As for what those charges may entail, he said only that the group’s actions represented “several levels of violations.”
“It’s littering. It’s polluting the environment,” Matthews said. “It can cause significant damage to our marine resources.”
On Tuesday, Boca Bash organizers released a statement on social media condemning the group’s actions, and applauding the people who they say assisted authorities in identifying the boaters.
“We do not condone this behavior by any means and are appalled that the passengers even had the audacity to clap at the drone that was filming them dumping their garbage,” the statement reads. “We hope the repercussions handed down can be viewed publicly as a warning of how important our waters are to us native Floridians.”
Now in its 17th year, the Boca Bash reportedly drew more than 10,000 revelers to the South Florida city, located about an hour northeast of Miami, over the weekend.
The Palm Beach Post reported Tuesday that a total of 16 arrests ― not including the alleged trash-dumping boaters ― were made during the event, with charges ranging from boating under the influence to possession of a controlled substance.
