Blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) is a cosmopolitan species distributed throughout tropical, sub-tropical, and temperate waters. Understanding the movements of pelagic fish and the influence that environmental conditions have on their vertical and geographic distribution is fundamental to understanding their ecology and necessary for effective management. Pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) were deployed on blue marlin using the traditional harpoon and longline fisheries of southeastern Taiwan. Depth, temperature and ambient light data were recorded by the PSATs. In total, 14 blue marlin were tagged between Feb 2010 to May 2014 and PSATs remain affixed from 27 to 360 days-at-liberty. Linear displacements ranged from 56 to 3,759 km from deployment to pop-up locations. Diving depths ranged from the surface to ~441 m and water temperatures occupied ranged from 32.3°C to 6.8°C, and the distributions of time spent at depth were significantly different between daytime and nighttime. Tagged blue marlin spent the majority of daytime in the surface mixed-layer to ~50 m, and at nighttime they were exclusively confined to the surface. The movements of blue marlin appeared to be restricted during the 2010 La Niña. Blue marlin exhibited residency patterns exclusive to the northwest Pacific Ocean during 2010-2013, when sea surface temperatures across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean were higher. During 2014, blue marlin undertook movements across the equator and exhibited residency patterns near coastal areas. It is postulated the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affected movement behaviors over temporal and spatial scales by shaping the available thermal habitat of blue marlin.