The ecosystem of the seas is very delicate. Breaking one link in the food chain, that goes all the way from the smallest microscopic creature to the biggest whale, would have devastating effects. In 1986, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) announced a worldwide ban on whaling. Today it allows a small number of whales to be taken every year "for scientific reasons." Peoples, like the Inuit, who have always depended on whaling, are allowed to continue whaling using traditional methods.