Mr. BABBITT: Well, there was a nice compromise because President Clinton proclaimed a national marinesanctuary, which is about 80 percent of the way toward a national monument, which closed the area to most but not all fishing and set in motion a study of what kind of permanent protection there out to be.
"We are proud as Cook Islanders to provide our entire exclusive economic zone... as a shark sanctuary, " said Teina Bishop, Cook Islands minister of marine resources.