ARAnglerRadar evidence & rules

Gasterosteus aculeatus · England

Where 3-spined stickleback has been recorded

Environment Agency surveys have recorded 3-spined stickleback at 4,095 sites across 1,299 waters, between 1975 and 2026. These are monitoring records with dates. They do not establish what is present today, nor that you may fish for it.

Waters

Rivers with the most records

Ordered by how many surveyed sites on each water recorded it. Waters with their own page are linked.

  1. Bollin34 siteslatest 23 Jul 2025
  2. River Wear (North East)33 siteslatest 9 Sept 2025
  3. River Don32 siteslatest 12 Aug 2025
  4. Warwickshire Avon30 siteslatest 12 Sept 2023
  5. River Tees (North East)27 siteslatest 8 Oct 2025
  6. Test26 siteslatest 9 Oct 2025
  7. Scarrow Beck22 siteslatest 30 Mar 2026
  8. River Aire (Yorkshire)21 siteslatest 30 Jun 2026
  9. River Coquet (North East)21 siteslatest 17 Jun 2026
  10. Main River Parrett19 siteslatest 11 Aug 2021
  11. Nar19 siteslatest 11 Mar 2025
  12. Northern Burns19 siteslatest 21 Jun 2019
  13. River Blackwater (East Anglia)19 siteslatest 11 Oct 2023
  14. Barlings Eau Tributary Sites18 siteslatest 7 Feb 1995
  15. River Colne Lower (East Anglia)18 siteslatest 2 Jun 2026
  16. Wensum (central)18 siteslatest 15 Aug 2025
  17. River Aln17 siteslatest 23 Jun 2026
  18. River Arrow (West Midlands)17 siteslatest 17 May 2022
  19. River Dearne17 siteslatest 17 Jun 2026
  20. River Stour Upper (East Anglia)17 siteslatest 8 Oct 2024
  21. Lincolnshire Lakes16 siteslatest 23 Jan 2003
  22. Lugg16 siteslatest 23 Jul 2019
  23. Main River Axe (Devon and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly)16 siteslatest 8 Aug 2023
  24. Main River Yeo (Wessex)16 siteslatest 30 Jul 2015
  25. Mimram16 siteslatest 25 Sept 2025
  26. South Forty Foot Tributary Sites16 siteslatest 21 Dec 1994
  27. Long Eau Riffles15 siteslatest 26 Sept 1996
  28. Itchen (Solent and South Downs)14 siteslatest 5 Sept 2025
  29. River Wansbeck14 siteslatest 22 Jun 2026
  30. Roding14 siteslatest 23 Apr 2026
  31. US Lt Ouse14 siteslatest 20 Aug 2024
  32. Wensum (Restoration strategy)14 siteslatest 1 May 2025
  33. Beaulieu13 siteslatest 8 Aug 2025
  34. Gowy13 siteslatest 16 Apr 2026
  35. Hickling Broad13 siteslatest 12 Feb 2016
  36. River Chelmer Upper (Main Reaches)13 siteslatest 1 Oct 2025
  37. River Sowe13 siteslatest 16 Jun 2022
  38. River Stour Middle (East Anglia)13 siteslatest 4 Aug 2025
  39. South Holland Main Drain13 siteslatest 2 Apr 2025
  40. Yedingham (Straightened Derwent project)13 siteslatest 18 Aug 2016
  41. Bain Tributary sites12 siteslatest 11 Apr 2014
  42. Bow Brook12 siteslatest 6 Aug 2024
  43. Brant Tributary Sites12 siteslatest 7 Feb 1995
  44. Granta12 siteslatest 10 Jun 2025
  45. Great Eau FMU12 siteslatest 4 Jun 2018
  46. Main river sites12 siteslatest 19 Sept 2024
  47. Ouse (Solent and South Downs)12 siteslatest 12 Sept 2018
  48. River Calder12 siteslatest 2 Oct 2025
  49. River Cam12 siteslatest 9 Jul 2019
  50. River Frome (West Midlands)12 siteslatest 17 Aug 2023
  51. Waveney (central)12 siteslatest 25 Sept 2023
  52. Main Avon Sites (Wessex)11 siteslatest 29 Sept 2025
  53. Main River Sheppey11 siteslatest 25 Jun 2019
  54. River Alne11 siteslatest 25 Aug 2016
  55. River Derwent (Cumbria and Lancashire)11 siteslatest 3 Jul 2023
  56. River Hull eel surveys11 siteslatest 11 Jun 2025
  57. River Leadon11 siteslatest 4 Aug 2022
  58. River Pant (Main Reaches)11 siteslatest 24 Oct 2023
  59. US Lark11 siteslatest 17 Jul 2024
  60. King's Beck10 siteslatest 29 Mar 2016
  61. Lee (Hertfordshire and North London)10 siteslatest 3 Jul 2025
  62. Main River Brue10 siteslatest 2 Jun 2023
  63. R.Slea10 siteslatest 19 Oct 2023
  64. River Leam10 siteslatest 25 May 2023
  65. River Chelt10 siteslatest 29 Jul 2014
  66. River Hull10 siteslatest 29 Sept 2025
  67. River Pont10 siteslatest 10 Jul 2024
  68. Weaver10 siteslatest 12 Aug 2015
  69. Ancholme Tributary Sites9 siteslatest 21 Dec 1995
  70. Ash (Hertfordshire and North London)9 siteslatest 18 Sept 2025
  71. Bure (upper)9 siteslatest 17 Oct 2025
  72. Candover9 siteslatest 18 Aug 2025
  73. Cheriton stream9 siteslatest 19 Aug 2025
  74. Medway - main river9 siteslatest 28 May 2025
  75. Meon9 siteslatest 8 Aug 2023
  76. Ouzel9 siteslatest 18 Jun 2013
  77. R.Ancholme Subcatchments9 siteslatest 24 Apr 2018
  78. River Blyth (North East)9 siteslatest 8 Jun 2022
  79. River Brett (Main Reaches)9 siteslatest 3 May 2024
  80. River Dane9 siteslatest 25 May 2010

Distribution

By ecology region

  • East Anglia1,014 sites
  • West Midlands569 sites
  • Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire399 sites
  • Yorkshire356 sites
  • Wessex319 sites
  • Greater Manchester Merseyside and Cheshire278 sites
  • North East269 sites
  • Solent and South Downs263 sites
  • Hertfordshire and North London149 sites
  • East Midlands137 sites
  • Kent, South London and East Sussex134 sites
  • Devon and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly130 sites
  • Thames69 sites
  • Cumbria and Lancashire9 sites

Regions are the Environment Agency’s own ecology areas. Survey effort is not even across them, so a higher count can reflect more monitoring rather than more fish.

Provenance

Source and licence

  • SourceEnvironment Agency Ecology & Fish Data
  • LicenceOpen Government Licence v3.0
  • Source copy retrieved23 Jul 2026
  • Not assertedCurrent presence, abundance, access, permission or fishing quality
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