The National Aquarium has launched an effort to protect a natural asset 70 miles off the coast of Maryland.

Aquarium officials disclosed this week that they intend to nominate the Baltimore Canyon to be recognized as the country’s first Urban National Marine Sanctuary and have started a petition drive to gain support for that effort.

The Baltimore Canyon is a 28-mile-long, five-mile-wide underwater ecosystem created by an ancient river millions of years ago. It contains fragile deep-sea corals that are rarely seen anywhere in the world and, if damaged, might never regrow. More than 125 species have been discovered there, including tunas, sharks, billfish, marine mammals, sea turtles and seabirds.

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