(d) SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH
PRIORITIES.—Section 
302(h) (16 U.S.C. 1852(h)) is further amended 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 
management 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 de-
veloping research priorities and budgets for the 
region 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 
semicolon at the end of paragraph (11), by striking 
the period at the end of paragraph (12) and insert-
ing a semicolon, and by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(13) include provisions to create a cooperative 
research component including the use of commercial 
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fishing, charter fishing, or recreational fishing ves-
sels for the gathering of data on stock abundance, 
composition, distribution, or other relevant informa-
tion important for the implementation of the plan;’’. 
(2) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH BY SECRETARY.— 
Section 404 (16 U.S.C. 1881c) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH BY SECRETARY.—The 
research program under subsection (a) may include coop-
erative research using commercial fishing, charter fishing, 
or recreational fishing vessels for the gathering of data 
on stock abundance, composition, distribution, or other 
relevant information.’’. 
(3) PRESERVING
FISHING
PRIVILEGES.—Sec-
tion 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 
title IV do not lose allocated fishing privileges (such 
as days at sea) based on the research activities, un-
less loss of such privileges is a part of the research 
plan under which the vessel participates; and 
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‘‘(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 
periodic regional assessments of stocks of fish. 
‘‘(b) INDEPENDENT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 
ensure 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 the 
regulated community can provide input during the 
review process.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents in the first section is further amended by add-
ing at the end of the items relating to title IV the 
following: 
‘‘Sec. 408. Regional stock assessments.’’. 
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(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 Coun-
cil or the Secretary, respectively, current 
information for use in managing fisheries; 
and 
‘‘(ii) is as transparent as possible, so 
that the regulated community can provide 
input during the review process.’’. 
SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE VMS.—Section 305 (16 
U.S.C. 1855) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(j) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE VMS.—The Secretary 
may require, if requested to do so by a Council, a Vessel 
Monitoring System or other similar electronic monitoring 
technology for a fishery or specific sectors of a fishery 
under the jurisdiction of the Council. To the extent that 
the technology is required for enforcement or data collec-
tion purposes for a dedicated access privilege management 
system, the cost of such a system shall be included in the 
costs that are considered in determining the amount of 
any fee required under this Act to be paid to participate 
in the fishery. Any information collected under this sub-
section shall be treated as confidential and exempt from 
disclosure under section 402(b).’’. 
(b) SHARING OF RECREATIONAL CATCH DATA.— 
Section 402 (16 U.S.C. 1881a) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(f) RECREATIONAL CATCH DATA.— 
‘‘(1) The Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) seek to obtain from States informa-
tion gathered under State recreational fishing 
license programs; 
‘‘(B) work with those States that do not 
require a recreational saltwater fishing license 
to determine whether other recreational data 
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