Environmentalists fear the grounding of a ship off Rennell Island in the Solomons could bring more damage to a marine protected area.
The MV Solomon Trader hit a reef in Kangava Bay off Rennell Island just over a week ago as it was loading bauxite from a nearby mine.
Chris Bone of OceansWatch Solomon Islands told Sally Round the reef is likely to be damaged and comes on top of bauxite spillage in the bay and coral bleaching.
Listen
The MV Solomon Trader on the reef Photo: Supplied