available. The Secretary shall base these guidelines on the 
recommendations for guidelines developed by the Ocean 
Studies Board of the National Research Council in its re-
port titled ‘Improving the Use of the Best Scientific Infor-
mation Available, Standard in Fisheries Management’.’’. 
(c) SCIENTIFIC AND STATISTICAL COMMITTEES.—Sec-
tion 302(g)(1) (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)(1)) is amended by insert-
ing ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘Each Council’’, and by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(B) Each scientific and statistical committee 
shall provide its Council ongoing scientific advice for 
fishery 
management 
decisions, 
including 
rec-
ommendations for acceptable biological catch and for 
the maximum sustainable yield for each fishery under 
the jurisdiction of the Council, and reports on stock 
status and health, bycatch, habitat status, socio-eco-
nomic impacts of management measures, and sustain-
ability of fishing practices. 
‘‘(C) Members appointed to the scientific and 
statistical committees shall be Federal employees, 
State employees, academicians, or independent ex-
perts with strong scientific or technical credentials 
and experience. 
‘‘(D) In addition to payments authorized by sub-
section (f)(7), the Secretary shall pay a stipend to 
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members of the scientific and statistical committees 
who are not employed by the Federal Government or 
a State government agency. 
‘‘(E) A science and statistical committee shall 
hold its meetings in conjunction with the meetings of 
the Council, to the extent practicable.’’. 
(d) SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH
PRIORITIES.—Section 
302(h) (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is further amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) develop, in conjunction with the scientific 
and statistical committee, multi-year research prior-
ities for fisheries, fisheries interactions, habitats, and 
other areas of research that are necessary for manage-
ment purposes, that shall— 
‘‘(A) establish priorities for 5-year periods; 
‘‘(B) be updated as necessary; and 
‘‘(C) be submitted to the Secretary and the 
regional science centers of the National Marine 
Fisheries Service for their consideration in devel-
oping research priorities and budgets for the re-
gion of the Council.’’. 
(e) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AUTHORITY.— 
(1) DISCRETIONARY
PROVISIONS
IN
FISHERY 
MANAGEMENT
PLANS.—Section 303(b) (16 U.S.C. 
1853(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semi-
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colon at the end of paragraph (11), by striking the 
period at the end of paragraph (12) and inserting a 
semicolon, and by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(13) include provisions to create a cooperative 
research component including the use of commercial 
fishing, charter fishing, or recreational fishing vessels 
for the gathering of data on stock abundance, com-
position, distribution, or other relevant information 
important for the implementation of the plan;’’. 
(2) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH BY SECRETARY.— 
Section 404 (16 U.S.C. 1881c) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH BY SECRETARY.—The 
research program under subsection (a) may include cooper-
ative research using commercial fishing, charter fishing, or 
recreational fishing vessels for the gathering of data on stock 
abundance, composition, distribution, or other relevant in-
formation.’’. 
(3) PRESERVING FISHING PRIVILEGES.—Section 
404 (16 U.S.C. 1881c) is further amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) PRESERVING FISHING PRIVILEGES.—The Sec-
retary shall ensure that— 
‘‘(1) fishing vessels participating in research ac-
tivities conducted pursuant to section 303(b)(13) or 
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title IV do not lose allocated fishing privileges (such 
as days at sea) based on the research activities, unless 
loss of such privileges is a part of the research plan 
under which the vessel participates; and 
‘‘(2) catch history of a vessel during such re-
search activities at any time when the vessel is sacri-
ficing fishing time in an open season shall accrue to 
the vessel, unless loss of such accrual is part of such 
research plan.’’. 
(f) REGIONAL STOCK ASSESSMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Title IV (16 U.S.C. 1881 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 408. REGIONAL STOCK ASSESSMENTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct peri-
odic regional assessments of stocks of fish. 
‘‘(b) INDEPENDENT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall en-
sure that each periodic assessment under this section is 
independently reviewed in a manner that— 
‘‘(1) will not delay the process of providing to 
Regional Fishery Management Councils current as-
sessments for use in managing fisheries; and 
‘‘(2) is as transparent as possible, so that inter-
ested members of the public can provide input during 
the review process.’’. 
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(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents in the first section is further amended by adding 
at the end of the items relating to title IV the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘Sec. 408. Regional stock assessments.’’. 
(3) REGIONAL STOCK ASSESSMENTS AND PEER 
REVIEW.—Section 302(g) (16 U.S.C. 1852(g)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) PEER REVIEW PROCESS.— 
‘‘(A) The Secretary and each Council shall 
establish a peer review process for scientific in-
formation used to advise the Secretary or the 
Council, respectively, about the conservation and 
management of fisheries. 
‘‘(B) The Secretary and each Council shall 
ensure that the peer review process established 
under this paragraph— 
‘‘(i) to the extent practicable, will not 
delay the process of providing to the Council 
or the Secretary, respectively, current infor-
mation for use in managing fisheries; and 
‘‘(ii) is as transparent as possible, so 
that interested members of the public can 
provide input during the review process.’’. 
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