This is the season for softer shell lobsters; they shed their shells beginning about mid-July every year in the Gulf of Maine. By August, the catch is almost all soft-shell.[ref]1- photo taken at Augusta Seafood after a delivery this week; from cell-phone camera[/ref] Some people prefer soft-shell (they are certainly easier to get in to! do they taste better?) but the commercial interests mostly hate them: they do not travel well – weak shells and stressed out contents, for one thing; there is a higher death rate per batch delivered. Typical pricing is for the soft-shell product to be sometimes a $1/lb cheaper: this gives you a clue as to the comparative value in the marketplace.