How to avoid institutional failure? Adapting resource management institutions to the challenges arising from climate-induced or other changes in the spatial distribution of marine stocks is one variant of this broader problem. Efforts to create, adapt and operate governance systems to address transboundary environmental problems frequently produce results that are disappointing or even end in outright failure. On the other hand, some regimes are widely regarded as successes. The evidence supporting these propositions includes qualitative accounts as well as quantitative analyses.