The Eastern Iberian Chub is endemic to Spain where it occurs in rivers and streams at different altitudes and with a diverse range of flow regimes. It does not approach the range thresholds for Vulnerable under Criterion B1 (extent of occurrence (EOO) < 20,000 km²) or D2, and Criterion B2 is precluded by its uncertain area of occupancy (AOO). The population size is believed to exceed 10,000 individuals, therefore it does not meet the thresholds for Criteria C or D, and there exists no quantitative analysis which would permit application of Criterion E.

Although no explicit population trend data exists, it is plausible that a suspected ongoing reduction based on field observations, declining habitat quality due to river regulation and other forms of anthropogenic habitat degradation, and the effects of introduced taxa approaches or meets the threshold for Vulnerable under Criterion A (≥ 30% over the past three generations). As a result of this data uncertainty, Least Concern and Vulnerable are equally plausible Red List categories for the present assessment, and this species is assessed as Near Threatened.

This species is endemic to a series of rivers and coastal wetlands draining to the Mediterranean Sea in the Valencian Community, eastern Spain. Its range extends southward from the Prat de Cabanes-Torreblanca wetland to the Vinalopó River, and includes the larger Mijares (ca. Millars), Turia (ca. Túria) and Júcar (ca. Xúquer) river systems.

This species' population size is unknown, but it is likely to exceed the minimum threshold for Red List criteria (< 10,000 mature individuals). The current population trend has not been quantified, but an ongoing reduction which may have reached 30% within the past three generations is suspected as a result of a continued decline in habitat quality. The number of subpopulations is unclear.

There exists documented evidence of decline since the mid-20^th century, and this pattern is suspected to be ongoing in some parts of its range, e.g., the Júcar River system, based on field observations, declining habitat quality and the effects of introduced taxa (see 'Threats').

This species occurs in rivers and streams at different altitudes and with a diverse range of flow regimes, from larger perennial channels to intermittent tributaries and short, karstic, spring-fed systems. Intermittent habitats are characterised by seasonal variations in discharge, and can be significantly dewatered during summer. Some individuals survive these drought periods in remnant pools which function as refugia.

It also occurs in a number of coastal freshwater wetlands, and has colonised some fluvial accumulation lakes created by dams at locations where there is access to suitable upstream spawning habitat (but see 'Threats'). One isolated subpopulation inhabits a natural freshwater lake in the upper Júcar River catchment.

Its life history has not been well-studied, but it is presumably comparable to other Iberian chubs, which are reproductively active from spring to early summer each year. This period is often characterised by the upstream migration of mature adults to spawning sites comprising beds of gravel or other coarse substrata in shallow, flowing water. These movements may be very short in small coastal river sytems.

This species is threatened by river regulation and other forms of anthropogenic habitat degradation, which have resulted in widespread loss of the heterogeneous, interconnected fluvial habitats required to complete its life-cycle. The construction of large dams plus smaller weirs and other barriers throughout its range has severely altered natural flow and sedimentation regimes, blocked migration routes, fragmented subpopulations, and reduced the extent of suitable habitat for all life stages. Hydroelectric dams have created unnatural fluctuations in discharge and water temperature (hydropeaking and thermopeaking) which bring about artificial dewatering of downstream river stretches and loss of stable nursery habitat for juveniles. Moreover, the combined effect of hydropeaking, dam flushing operations, changes in land use, and the removal of riparian vegetation is likely to have increased accumulation of fine sediments at some spawning sites, plausibly impairing the hatching and survival rates of eggs and larvae.

The quality of available habitat has been further diminished by bank stabilisation, channelisation and other efforts to enhance flood protection or exploit water resources for irrigated agriculture. Unregulated water abstraction also constitutes a particular threat to coastal spring-fed river and wetland systems as well as this species' upstream spawning and nursery sites, some of which may have been further damaged by the industrial extraction of riverine gravel and other sediments for urban development.

This species is also threatened by diffuse and point source agricultural, domestic and industrial pollution, which has at some locations reduced the extent and quality of habitat due to eutrophication or discharge of toxic substances. Pollution can be particularly impactful when discharge is reduced during the summer, especially in temporal rivers where native fishes are often confined to small refugia (see 'Habitat and Ecology').

Non-native aquatic species established within the Eastern Iberian Chub's range include Common Carp (Cyprinus domestic strain), Pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus), Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides), Northern Pike (Esox lucius), Eurasian Pikeperch (Sander lucioperca), Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii), all of which are considered invasive and can exert detrimental pressures on native freshwater fauna through increased competition, predation, habitat degradation or transmission of pathogens. The presence of these taxa is favoured by barrier construction since they broadly prefer lentic conditions.

The ongoing spread of non-native Common Bleak (Alburnus alburnus) throughout much of this species' range is understood to represent a particular threat since it is able to hybridise with Iberian Squalius species.

The negative impact of some threats could plausibly be exacerbated by increasingly rapid climate change, which is already driving extended periods of drought in the Iberian Peninsula.

This species is not used or traded.

This species is included in Appendix III of the Bern Convention (as Leuciscus pyrenaicus).

It occurs within the boundaries of various protected areas throughout its range, including a number of national parks and sites included in the European Union's Natura 2000 network.

Some subpopulations may have benefitted from an increasing tendency to install or improve fishways on existing barriers within its range.

A deeper understanding of this species' demographics (population size and trend), current distribution and life history, particularly the identification of key spawning sites, would likely prove useful in the development of future management efforts.