The MECANOR² FEAMP project (2020-2023) focused on the eastern English Channel whelk and crustacean trap fisheries. An historical approach has been developped to collect information on three crustacean species’ (lobster, Homarus gammarus, edible crab, Cancer pagurus, and spider crab, Maja brachydactyla) past dynamics. To achieve these objectives the annual reports from the French National Fishery Statistics have been banked to analyse fisheries trends. This banking was adapted by sequences to follow changes in spatial scale and species identification precisions. The following document informs choices that have been made when creating this database to ease its use.