We used bibliometric indicators to characterize recent (2010–2013) research activity in fisheries science with the objective of garnering insights into how this increased effort has been directed. Specifically, we provide an overview of the primary literature on fisheries research, including which countries are the largest contributors (USA, China, Japan, Australia, Canada, and Norway), and an assessment of the citation impact of the research conducted by different countries. The countries with the highest impact were the UK, Norway, Germany, France, Canada, and Italy. We further assessed the research topics that are most commonly studied and attempt to understand what drives that. During the past three decades, research appears to have shifted from a focus on species-related questions to processes. An analysis of how publication output is distributed at the level of fish species indicates that a small number of species (e.g. Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, and Atlantic cod) account for a disproportionate volume of the total research effort. Interestingly, publication output is not correlated with the commercial importance of a species. Although fisheries management is purportedly based upon scientific research, our analysis reveals that hardly any research at all is conducted on several of the (commercially) most important species, at least as measured by articles appearing in international scientific journals.