While
in Tenakee a few years ago I was invited to go aboard a
fishing boat to pull up a couple of King Crab pots. We got
a nice haul and our friend started checking for soft shells.
Every year, usually spring, crabs molt their shells being
replaced by a larger one. During the molting process there
is only half the meat and the crabs are put back in to the
sea. We were lucky and none of this delicious catch were
molting.