Disclosed herein is a method of detecting a target in a sea area based on a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image thereof. The Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image is made up of pixels, each having a respective magnitude. The method comprises computing a first reference quantity which characterizes a Poisson distribution assumed for the magnitudes that the pixels in the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image would have if the sea area were free of targets. The method further comprises selecting pixels in the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image, computing a real quantity which characterizes a real statistical distribution of the magnitudes of the selected pixels, and detecting a target in the sea area based on the computed first reference and real quantities. The selected pixels are in a one and the same sub-image of the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image, and detecting comprises detecting a target in a sea subarea of the sea area, the sea subarea being represented by the sub-image.