A Wavy Boats video of a group of partiers dumping two garbage cans full of trash into the ocean while leaving the Boca Bash then returning to the party has been making the rounds online and now, with law enforcement. The social media response has been intense, and though none of the offenders’ identities have been confirmed, some of the alleged boaters appear to be minors. The folks on the boat were filmed from many angles, and can be seen showing off for the cameras, so they were aware they were being filmed and still chose to use the ocean as a landfill.
Update Friday, May 3, 2024 at 6:40 p.m. EST: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials said Friday that the two teens seen dumping their trash into the ocean turned themselves into authorities. NBC Miami reported, “The teens — 15 and 16 years old — turned themselves in to police Friday, FWC officials said. They both face felony third-degree charges of causing pollution so as to harm or injure human health or welfare, animal, plant, aquatic life or property, which amounts to $50,000 in fines or up to five years in prison.”
The Boca Bash is an annual event that the Palm Beach Post says is all about boozing and bikinis, and in previous years the event has caused chaos on Lake Boca. The event occurs on the last Sunday in April each year, and has been the site of numerous boating under the influence fines, and even the drowning death of a man in 2018, so it’s known to be a rowdy event. Organizers of the event responded to the viral video of partiers dumping their trash into the ocean saying they regularly ask attendees to keep waterways clean, and that organizers don’t condone drinking and operating a vessel. Click Orlando reported,
Wavy Boats took the video as the vessel was leaving the annual Boca Bash on Lake Boca, speeding east on the inlet despite huge swells, then stopping to dump the trash — cans, bottles, plastic cups — right into the sea. The video shows some of it floating on the surface as the boaters sped back into the inlet to rejoin the party.
The video went viral and was reposted on several accounts with tens of thousands of people commenting and expressing anger.
“The boat should be confiscated and sold at auction,” one comment read.
Another reads, “Take their boat and jail them!”
A spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the agency is investigating. The agency confirmed to Local 10 that agents know who the boat belongs to and are working to identify everyone on board
Since the boaters are allegedly minors, there is no word on any arrests or if parents will be held accountable for the ignorant acts of the group. Florida litter law violations can result in civil penalties, fines, and potentially prison sentences.