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Sarasota couple donates $1M to start Red Tide Institute at Mote

Sarasota philanthropists Dr. Andrew and Judith Economos are investing $1 million dollars to start the Red Tide Institute at Mote Marine Laboratory.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Red tide has been around for centuries. One Sarasota couple wants to put an end to it and they’re putting their money behind that goal.

Sarasota philanthropists Dr. Andrew and Judith Economos are investing $1 million dollars to start the Red Tide Institute at Mote Marine Laboratory.

The couple says they’ve seen and lived the destruction red tide has caused to our marine life and economy over the last year. They believe Mote can come up with the answers if given the resources.

“We have faith in Mote Marine Laboratory. We think this is the right place to start the institution," Dr. Andrew Economos said. "This will generate interest along this coast to be more philanthropy. We’re not seeing this from our government. We’re not seeing this from the feds. We’re not seeing this from the state."

“You need a concentration of effort of money this could be a big project to mitigate and eliminate this," he added.

The $1 million dollars comes from the Andrew and Judith Economos Charitable Foundation and will fund the new Red Tide Institute’s first year of operations.

For more on red tide, click here.

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