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35,289 southern royal albatrosses (Diomedea epomophora) were banded on Campbell Island between 1941 and 1998, including 24,258 chicks and 11,031 adults. By 2003, 240 (0.68%) band recoveries and live recaptures away from Campbell Island had been reported. Birds banded as chicks were reported at a median age of 2 years (range 1-28 yrs), and adults at a median of 4 years after banding (range 0-27 yrs). The peak of band recoveries occurred close to the peak of banding in the late 1960s. Recoveries were generally made between latitudes 30-55°S in southern Australasia and South America; 43% were on coasts and 56% at sea. Birds recovered at sea (n = 134) were usually in waters over the continental shelf (up to c. 200 m deep water; 55% of records) or slope (200-1000 m; 19%). Distribution varied with age, with 56% of juveniles (<20 months old, n = 78) found on the west side of South America (especially in December – February), 54% of immature birds (<6 years old, n = 48) on the east side of South America (especially in June – July) and 55% of adults (≥ 6 years old, n = 114) in the New Zealand region. Most (94%, n = 102) birds recovered on the coast were dead, compared with 46% (n = 134) of those found at sea. Some birds were apparently caught to read bands, and 36% of the live birds (n = 78) were released without their bands, and of the remainder, 3 birds were seen again on Campbell Island. About half (49%, n = 61) of deaths at sea were caused by accidental capture on fishing lines. A possible decrease in the population during the 1970s – early 1980s coincided with the peak in long-line fishing in the New Zealand region and suggests this albatross could be affected by any new fisheries or intensification of fishing without adequate mitigation. It would be prudent to monitor the trends, dynamics and foraging of a range of New Zealand albatross species within an, as yet undeveloped, strategy for research and monitoring of seabirds in New Zealand.