Four Tanzanian fishermen died at Gazi Bay after their boat capsized near Chale Island in Kwale County.
They were with 12 of their colleagues when their boat was hit by heavy storms on Monday night. Their colleagues managed to swim to safety and were rescued.
The fishermen from Pemba are usually employed by locals due to their fishing prowess.
According to the survivors, trouble started at around 7pm.
Mr Omar Faki said that there were strong tides that forced them to dock near the Chale Island.
The nets then fell and trapped the engine and stopped the propellers. The boat overturned and we decided to swim to the shore but others drowned he said.
All bodies have been retrieved.
The area Chief, Ali Riga, said that little could have been done during the night incident.
In the morning we mobilized local fishermen who went to the deep seas to retrieve the bodies, he said.
Mr Riga said the Fishermen from Pemba are operating in the area as per the law and they are dully registered by the government.
According to Gazi Bay Beach Management Unit (BMU) Said Juma, fishing activities by the foreign fishermen boosts the economy of the area because they get fish in large quantities.
Similarly, a Pemba fisherman Sheheni Hamadi said fishing in the Kenyan waters is better than in Tanzania.
Fishing here is much better than back home because there are lower tides and we get more fish, he said.
Mr Athman Simba, one of the local fishermen who helped retrieve the bodies said they were found on the ocean’s floor.
Fishing is the main economic activity in Gazi Bay.