A key first step in any reintroduction programme is to identify the former native range of the species in question. Such information provides the geographical framework for the project, within which potential reintroduction sites can be assessed. This study provides a historical review of the former distribution and status of the burbot, Lota lota, a freshwater gadoid extirpated from England. The review examines records of burbot presence and abundance from a range of historical and anecdotal sources and provides a qualitative evaluation of the species’ decline in English rivers. Burbot were found to have inhabited 42 rivers in eastern England ranging from the River Skerne in County Durham to the River Blyth in Suffolk. The literature suggests the species persisted in greater numbers in a few isolated areas such as the Yorkshire Derwent and the Great Ouse. The review also indicates that rather than be confined to slow-flowing lowland rivers, burbot occupied a range of aquatic environments including small upland headwaters as well as some lake systems.