GENEVA -- Actor Ted Danson called Thursday for tough limits on subsidies that are promoting overfishing around the globe.

In an interview with The Associated Press, the actor said the World Trade Organization needed to address the problem of boats fishing on the high seas longer and farther away from port thanks to billions of dollars in annual government handouts.

The subsidies are a major reason why 80 percent of the world's fisheries are threatened, and why the industry is bringing in smaller catches despite the bigger fleets, Danson said.

"You are subsidizing the boats to do exactly the wrong thing," Danson said at the WTO's Geneva headquarters. "One of the fastest ways to deal with this problem, is to take boats off the water. If you cut subsidies, you are going to cut their ability to do the wrong thing."

Most famous as bartender Sam Malone on NBC's 1982-93 Emmy-winning sitcom "Cheers," Danson founded the American Oceans Campaign in 1987 to bring national attention to marine environmental issues. The group later merged with Oceana to publicize the cause worldwide.

Danson, 61, was part of an Oceana delegation that visited Geneva to meet with diplomats representing the trade body's 153 members. He expressed some optimism that the WTO's long-struggling round of free trade talks would include elements to stem overfishing, but acknowledged that the slow pace of negotiations wasn't providing an immediate help.

"Since I was here two years ago, 5 percent of our world fisheries have fallen from doing well to now fully fished," he said. "Natural resources are dwindling faster than we seem to be able to create agreements to do something about that."

The WTO's Doha was launched in 2001 to remove barriers to global commerce in agriculture, manufacturing and services, but it has missed a series of deadlines and is now six years behind schedule. It is the longest-running set of trade talks in history.