A night-time OLS (Operational Linescan System) visible-near-infrared (VNIR)
channel image of the DMSP (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program) was o
verlaid on the simultaneously corrected OLS thermal infrared (TIR) channel
image for the area around Japan. The OLS composite image showed a clear rel
ationship between the location of fishing fleet lights detected by the VNIR
channel and the sea surface temperature (SST) distribution observed by the
TIR channel. Many fishing fleets were located at the cold side of the boun
dary area between warm currents and cold currents. Since some types of fish
are likely to gather in certain sea temperature zones, the OLS composite i
mage may provide useful information for the monitoring of fishing fleets as
well as for marine resources management.