Habitat Black marlin generally exist in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. In terms of outright top speed, the black marlin is the fastest fish in the ocean capable of accelerating to an unbelievable 129km/h (80mph). Their depth ranges from 0 to 915m, though they rarely swim below 30m. In temperate waters occurrence is rare. More specifically, they use the epipelagic zone, or the region of water at the surface where light still penetrates. In tropical areas distribution is scattered but continuous in open waters, denser near coastal areas and islands. They are most commonly found in deep waters, near such prominent bottom structures as … We found variability in the location of suitable black marlin habitat across months and years. On an annual basis, conditions favoured by black marlin … Black marlin can also be easily distinguished from other marlins as they are the only marlin that have rigid pectoral fins that cannot be folded flat against the body. This oceanic pelagic species is distributed throughout the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans and is found in surface waters above the thermocline at temperatures from 15 to 30°C. They are a highly migratory, pelagic species that will rarely swim deeper than 100 feet. However, many species live in pelagic, open-ocean ecosystems. Coloring and Characteristics. The black marlin occurs in the tropical Indian and Pacific oceans. Average sizes tend to be in the range of 11 feet and 200 to 400 pounds. The black marlin (Istiompax indica) is a highly migratory billfish that occupies waters throughout the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific. A highly migratory species, black marlins, Istiompax indica,are usually found in shallow waters above the thermoclineat 15to 30° C, near shore close to continents, islands and coral reefs. Habitat of the Marlin Some of the different species in this group utilize different types of habitats. To characterize the vertical habitat use of I. indica , we examined the temperature-depth profiles collected using 102 pop-up satellite archival tags deployed off the east coast of Australia. A few stray black marlin travel around the Cape of Good Hope into the Atlantic.