ACTIVISTS will be donning penguin costumes to raise awareness of a global campaign.

The Southampton Greenpeace group will be taking to the streets in a bid to get support for proposals to turn a 700,000 tract of seas around Antarctica into the world's biggest reserve.

The sanctuary in the Weddell Sea would ban all fishing in an area the size of Germany in a bid to protect species including penguins, killer whales, leopard seals and blue whales.

Currently conservationists say that industrial-scale fishing of krill - a species at the bottom of the food chain - is decimating food that larger species rely on.

Krill is sold as food for fish farms and used in health supplements to treat conditions such as arthritis.

Now Greenpeace have launched the Protect the Antarctic campaign in the run-up to a global conference of the Antarctic nations this October.

Southampton Greenpeace member Rhia Weston said: "There will be a global day of action on Saturday to raise awareness of the issue and we'll be either doing a flash mob or a 'waddle for Weddell' from the Bargate up to Guildhall Square."

As previously reported the group campaigned in the city centre to get Coca Cola to stop using plastic bottles.

The group has around 20 members in Southampton. The day of action takes place on January 20.