BOCA RATON, Fla. — An investigation is underway into an incident involving several people seen on video over the weekend dumping trash into the Atlantic Ocean off the southeastern Florida coastline.
A video published on Facebook and YouTube by the Wavy Boats channel shows the crew dumping two full cans of garbage overboard on Sunday during Boca Bash 2024. At one point, a close-up shot in the video shows the trash in the water after the boat took off, which appears to mostly be drink cans and bottles.
"WARNING: THIS VIDEO WILL MAKE YOU ANGRY! CAUGHT RED HANDED AT BOCA BASH," the video description reads, in part.
In a report from WPTV-TV, several residents who live near the beach expressed their outrage over the incident.
"It's everything you can think of, from bottles to cans to garbage to plastic, everything that can kill the environment. It's awful," Jill Ofer and Ed Zybert, speaking together, told the TV station. "The plastic will stay in the ocean and that's how you kill the fish and the whole environment. It's pretty outrageous."
Florida's litter law states anyone illegally dumping more than 15 pounds of waste into a waterway could face a first-degree misdemeanor, a year in jail, a $1,000 fine and serve a year of probation. According to the Ocean Dumping Act, which was passed in 1972, ocean dumping is not allowed as it puts human health and marine environments at risk.
WPTV reported that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating this incident, calling it "illegal dumping of trash."
The official Boca Bash Instagram page also posted a statement on the incident on the account's Instagram story:
"We were first informed of the egregious act when Qualified Captain posted the video. We quickly discovered who the owner of the boat was and several people helping us find them had already contacted the authorities to handle the situation. It is irresponsible boat owners like this that give the event a bad reputation.
"The Boca Bash regularly asks attendees to keep our waterways CLEAN. It seems the issue was the boaters were paranoid about getting pulled over, which is why we relentlessly ask everyone to pair up with a captain for their Boca Bash trip. We do not condone drinking and operating a vessel by ANY MEANS."
