Stone loach · Barbatula barbatula

Stone loach in England's Rivers

The largest recorded measurement is 78 cm (30.7 in), from Park Farm in Chess Stream on 24 July 1997.

Median length: 8 cm (3.1 in)
Fish measured: 110,052
Named waterways: 1,850
Latest observation: 28 Jul 2026

Direct individual measurements

Largest stone loach by waterway

Ranked by the largest individual measured in EA surveys. The sample size shows how many valid length measurements underpin each waterway's figures.

Rank	River or waterway	Largest	Median	Measured	Measured at
1	Chess StreamSouth East	78 cm (30.7 in)	5.8 cm (2.3 in)	52	24 Jul 1997Park Farm
2	River WharfeYorkshire and North East	61.7 cm (24.3 in)	6.8 cm (2.7 in)	124	23 Jul 1997Tadcaster pre 2006
3	River OuseYorkshire and North East	49.2 cm (19.4 in)	6.7 cm (2.6 in)	5	23 Jul 1999Naburn Weir (boom boat site)
4	River WearYorkshire and North East	25 cm (9.8 in)	8.1 cm (3.2 in)	229	10 Aug 2009Cong Burn at Chester-le-Street
5	River WearYorkshire and North East	25 cm (9.8 in)	8 cm (3.1 in)	77	10 Aug 2009Cong Burn at Chester-Le-Street - Eel Site
6	River Bure (upper)Anglian	19.6 cm (7.7 in)	9.7 cm (3.8 in)	2,371	27 Apr 2004Upstream Elmerdale Bridge
7	Smite BrookMidlands	19.5 cm (7.7 in)	10.6 cm (4.2 in)	42	6 Jul 1995Monks Kirby
8	River Great StourSouth East	19.2 cm (7.6 in)	8.4 cm (3.3 in)	360	11 Aug 2006Little Chart, Forstal
9	River ToveAnglian	18.2 cm (7.2 in)	8.4 cm (3.3 in)	259	11 Apr 2016Milford Leys Farm
10	River WallingtonSouth East	18.1 cm (7.1 in)	7.5 cm (3 in)	142	15 Aug 2001Comphouse Ford

Equal maximum lengths are ordered by sample size. Measurements are shown as recorded and are not converted into estimated weights.

110,052 fish measured

Measured stone loach lengths

The median divides the measured sample in half. This distribution describes surveyed fish, not every stone loach living in England.

0–19 mm

20–39 mm

3534

40–59 mm

16086

60–79 mm

34904

80–99 mm

39748

100–119 mm

14051

120–139 mm

1584

140–159 mm

160–179 mm

180–199 mm

240–259 mm

460–479 mm

480–499 mm

540–559 mm

600–619 mm

780–799 mm

Only positive individual lengths that pass RiverFish's general measurement checks are included. Each bar covers a 20 mm range.

Latest EA evidence

Latest stone loach observations

The ten most recent survey visits that recorded stone loach in named waterways.

Date	River or waterway	Survey location	Fish recorded
28 Jul 2026	River North Tyne	North Tyne at Riverhill farm	Not supplied
27 Jul 2026	River Swale	Great Langton DS of midbar	Not supplied
27 Jul 2026	River Swale	Great Langton RH of midbar	Not supplied
24 Jul 2026	Long Whatton Brook	Long Whatton	Not supplied
23 Jul 2026	River Weaver	Wewe25	Not supplied
23 Jul 2026	River Lee	Amwell Loop	Not supplied
22 Jul 2026	River Darent	Twitton Brook	1
16 Jul 2026	River Colne	Watford M1 link road	Not supplied
15 Jul 2026	River North Tyne	North Tyne at Bellingham	Not supplied
14 Jul 2026	River North Tyne	North Tyne at Tarset Hall	Not supplied

A survey record confirms stone loach at that place and time. It does not show present-day abundance or fishing access.

24,798 positive survey visits

Survey distribution

EA surveys recorded stone loach at 7,692 locations across 1,850 named waterways represented on RiverFish.

Region	Waterways	Locations	Survey visits	Latest record
North West	374	1,401	4,133	23 Jul 2026
South West	357	1,250	4,275	9 Jul 2026
Midlands	316	1,298	3,695	24 Jul 2026
Anglian	296	1,289	4,562	14 Jul 2026
South East	273	1,175	3,620	23 Jul 2026
Yorkshire and North East	234	1,279	4,513	28 Jul 2026

681 detailed pages

Stone loach by river

Open any river-specific page for its measured lengths, largest surveyed individuals, locations and observation history.

Anglian 162 pages

Midlands 120 pages

North West 26 pages

South East 104 pages

South West 153 pages

Yorkshire and North East 116 pages

How to read this page

Survey measurements, not angling records

Environment Agency surveys are designed to monitor fish populations. Their largest measurement is not equivalent to a verified rod-and-line record, and the survey sample does not include every river or every stone loach.

Waterway groups with administrative or mixed-river labels are excluded from the headline national totals and rankings. Their eligible river-specific pages remain available in the directory so no published destination is hidden.

The fish records use the Environment Agency source snapshot dated 10 August 2026.

How RiverFish handles the data →