AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- The government in New Zealand needs to act in unison with regional partners and close parts of its waters to all fishing, Greenpeace said.
Greenpeace said fishing fleets from Asia, the United States and the European Union overfished most of the Pacific Ocean, threatening to wipe out regional tuna stocks.
"Now is a critical time to put in place measures to stop this happening," the advocacy group warned in a statement.
The group said more than 70 percent of the world's tuna stocks were caught in the Pacific Ocean. Scientists have called for dramatic cuts in fishing to protect the species from overfishing.
Fishing in the Pacific is vital for regional economies, the group said, but "rampant overfishing" could undermine economic development and eliminate an important source of food.
Greenpeace said it was calling on New Zealand to support regional plans to close parts of international waters to "all fishing."
"Protecting the Pacific's tuna resources is going to be a David and Goliath battle between the Pacific Island nations and the powerful fishing countries with their vast industrial fleets," the group said. "We must support our Pacific neighbors."
