It’s already been a long snow crab season, but it’s about to be longer. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Monday that the season will be extended by two weeks in some areas, moving the overall end date to mid-June.

Heavy ice cover in the Bering Sea periodically forced fishermen off the grounds this winter and almost a quarter of the allowable harvest remains uncaught. The unprecedented move by Fish and Game should give crabbers time to bring in the remaining 20 million pounds.

The fishery was scheduled to close on May 31, but with the extension, areas west of 171 degrees will be open through June 15.