The Trump administration said it will consider selling leases to extract minerals from the seabed off the South Pacific island of American Samoa, a potential first step in a wider industry push to allow deep-sea mining that environmentalists oppose because they say it could irreparably harm marine ecosystems.

The Department of Interior said last week that it is responding to an April request from California-based company Impossible Metals for a commercial auction. The company wants to mine the ocean floor for deposits of nickel, cobalt and other critical minerals.

Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to fast-track permits for companies to mine the ocean floor in U.S. and international waters. The move comes amid the Trump administration’s trade war with China, which controls many critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt and manganese used in high-tech manufacturing, including for military uses.

Environmentalists worry that ocean mining could harm fisheries and even affect oceans’ ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide, the main driver of global warming. More than 30 countries, as well as fisheries trade groups, environmentalists, and some auto and tech companies, have called for a moratorium on seabed mining.

“We’re ready for a fight as Trump’s dangerous deep-sea mining obsession worsens,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Island communities depend on healthy oceans and declaring open season on mineral prospecting puts people and wildlife at risk.”