A Japanese fishing inspection ship made an unusual stopover in Bermuda over the weekend for a stretch of rest and relaxation.

The Fukuyoshi Maru No. 26 arrived in Bermuda last Thursday and departed early Monday afternoon after picking up groceries and fuel, touring the Island and carrying out a small crew change.

Officers from Agriculture and Fisheries paid a courtesy call to the ship, Director John Barnes told The Royal Gazette.

"The Japanese have 44 boats fishing in the North Atlantic," Mr. Barnes said. Fukuyoshi Maru 26 inspects those boats to insure they are complying with international fishing regulations and quotas, he explained.

While the inspection boat patrols international waters, they only have jurisdiction over Japanese-flagged vessels. "They basically police their own fleet," Mr. Barnes said.

And he pointed out the Japanese fishing fleet is very efficiently organised, in addition to regulating its own ships, the inspection vessels often carry medical personnel to attend to shipboard ailments.

While the Japanese fleet fishes an extensive area of the north and east Atlantic ocean, Mr. Barnes said Bermuda has not licensed any Japanese vessels to fish local waters for many years.

The fleet primarily targets blue fin and big eye tuna, he said, which are not common in local waters.

This was the Fukuyoshi Maru's first visit to Bermuda.