The end of the opilio season is in sight at last. As of this morning, fishermen have less than a million pounds of snow crab left to catch.

Heather Fitch is a biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and she says only a handful of boats are still fishing. Most crews have packed up and left town. She says that after a long winter, a battle with record sea ice, and one season extension that everyone involved with the fishery is pretty excited to reach this point.

“I think everyone is pretty relieved that we’re within one percent of the quota,” says Fitch.

According to Fish and Game, the fleet has taken 88.1 million pounds of its 88.9 million pound quota. The dockside value of the fishery is approximately $180 million. The season officially closes on June 15, two weeks later than usual.