Norway has launched the innovative AISSat-1 spacecraft to monitor shipping in its territorial waters.
The small satellite will track vessels over 300 gross tonnes by picking up the signals from their AIS (Automatic Identification System) transponders.
AIS is used principally for collision-avoidance, and by the authorities near the coast to keep watch on cargo, passenger and fisheries activity.
AISSat-1 will enable Norway to see what is happening over a vast area.
"Norway has the largest sea area to manage in Europe, and this area is the source for a lot of Norwegian income, from oil to fisheries," explained Bo Andersen, the director general of the Norwegian Space Centre.
"We want to manage these resources in the best possible manner; and we do that now with radar satellites that give us quite a good overview about where ships are. But they don't give us knowledge about which ships they are.
"Of course, the fisheries authorities and the coastguard can go out in aeroplanes and check the ships, but we are talking about an area that's bigger than the Mediterranean. So we want a more efficient system."
More details here.