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During 1976-89, 490 Black Shag (Phalacrocorax carbo) nestlings were banded at Matthews and Boggy Pond wildlife reserves, and Te Hopai Lagoon, Wairarapa. Forty-one (8.4%) have been recovered, all dead, 20 of unknown causes. Of 21 for which the cause of death was known, 13 drowned in set nets, 11 of these birds being less than 6 months old. Six shags had been shot, all prior to 1986 when the Black Shag received partial protection. While 85% of the shags were found within a 100 km of the banding sites, mainly to the north and west, one bird was recovered about 2000 km away on Lord Howe Island.