A pair of teenagers who were caught littering from a party boat in Florida turned themselves in after authorities showed up at their parents’ home.
They were allegedly part of a group of revelers who were seen dumping their cans and bottles into the Atlantic Ocean and openly celebrating littering.
The Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) then launched an investigation and a 15-year-old from Gulfstream and a 16-year-old from Boynton Beach were identified using the boat’s registration.
They now face third-degree felony charges of causing pollution in a manner that injures or impairs human health or well-being, animal, plant or aquatic life or property, according to WFLA.
FWC officials met with the 15-year-old’s father, who told them “this is not a representation of who we are.”
A pair of teenagers who were caught littering from a party boat in Florida turned themselves in after authorities showed up at their parents’ home.
They were allegedly part of a group of revelers who were seen dumping their cans and bottles into the Atlantic Ocean and openly celebrating littering.
The Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC), led by Rodney Barreto (pictured), then launched an investigation and a 15-year-old from Gulfstream and a 16-year-old from Boynton Beach were identified using the boat’s registration. .
Video of the teens allegedly throwing trash into the ocean went viral and the FWC said the boat operator and a second individual were responsible.
They identified them by tracking down the owner of the boat and heading to his address.
Investigators were met by the 15-year-old’s father, who asked to arrange a meeting with an attorney present.
“This has become a world story,” FWC President Rodney Barreto said during a commission meeting Wednesday.
‘Over the weekend, my phone blew up. Hopefully, it will be a great teaching moment for all of them.”
Col. Brian Smith, director of the agency’s law enforcement division, previously said, “We need to send a message that Florida does not tolerate this and that we want to protect our environment.”
The teens are believed to have been part of Florida’s annual Boca Bash that was in full swing last weekend.
Around 10,000 revelers took to the sea for a wild party as the liquor flowed.
Officials arrested nearly 20 partygoers, unrelated to the trash incident, on charges related to boating under the influence and drug offenses.
The large group of people was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on Tuesday morning, according to Boca News.
Hundreds of thousands of people around the world have watched videos of the spill on various social media platforms.
Boca Bash representatives say they identified the partiers and called their behavior “completely unacceptable.”
The incident also upset locals, who noted that no one on the boat discouraged the suspects from littering.
“It really makes you angry to see someone destroy the ocean like that,” said Rodrigo Samsing, a local who often sails his boat in those waters.
You know, no one else on the ship tried to stop them. “Everyone was celebrating,” he told WSVN.
What angered Samsing the most is that there was no immediate emergency that would have caused the participants to have to throw away the trash.
‘I mean they already had the trash in the trash can, they could have just put a bag in, taken a bag, filled it up and thrown it away. Instead, they just carelessly throw it into the ocean. It’s really sad to see,” he said.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection cited federal law in saying boaters cannot dispose of trash “from a boat while in lakes, rivers, bays, straits and offshore within three miles of the ocean.”
Boca Bash representatives said they identified the partygoers and called their behavior “completely unacceptable.”
Boca Bash added: “It’s irresponsible boaters like this who don’t care about our oceans that are giving this event a bad reputation.”
