'The world is watching this' top Florida wildlife official says about Boca Bash trash dumping

Florida wildlife officials have identified the people involved in the weekend incident at Boca Bash where two large cans of garbage were thrown from a speeding boat and said the state attorney's office is working with the boaters' lawyer on what happens next.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission Chairman Rodney Barreto addressed the trash-tossing incident, which was caught on drone video, at Wednesday, May 1, commission meeting in Daytona Beach, saying the "world is watching this."

"This has become a worldwide story," Barreto said. "Over the weekend, my phone blew up. Hopefully, it will be a huge teaching moment for all of them."

The incident, and video that captured the garbage being dumped over the side of the triple-engine boat by jubilant passengers, has been featured on national television news shows and in international media reports.

Officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) made 16 arrests during the event at Lake Boca unrelated to the trash incident, according to Palm Beach County court and jail records. Those arrested face charges ranging from boating under the influence to possession of a controlled substance.

Most of the defendants appeared for court hearings Monday morning, April 29, at the Palm Beach County Jail annex and were later released on their own recognizance, court records show.

FWC Col. Brian Smith, director of the division of law enforcement, said Wednesday it was fortunate that the videography company Wavy Boats was at Boca Bash to capture the incident.

Wavy Boats captures video of illegal trash dumping incident at Boca Bash 2024

"This is clearly poor decisions made by young people," Smith said. "When the drone captured the actual amount of trash, it was considerable. There was a lot of trash and a lot of plastic."

Bikinis and boats: See images from wild boat party Boca Bash 2024 on Lake Boca Raton in South Florida

FWC is the lead investigating agency on the incident, but Barreto said the Coast Guard and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection are involved, as well as the state attorney's office.

"These are all juveniles, but we need to send a message that Florida doesn't tolerate this and that we want to protect our environment," Barreto said.

He said he isn't clear what action the FWC can take but wants each person involved to do at least 500 hours of community service overseen by the FWC.

Boca Bash has no affiliation with the City of Boca Raton but is an annual raucous party held on Lake Boca on the last weekend in April. The event attracts as many as 6,000 to 10,000 people each year.

Images from 2019 Boca Bash

Images from 2017 Boca Bash

Palm Beach Post reporter Julius Whigham II contributed to this story.

Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism; subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boca Bash trash dumpers on Wavy Boats video identified in Florida