The hand of a missing Scottish tourist has been found in the stomach of a tiger shark off the coast of Réunion Island.

The 44-year-old man, whose identity has not been released, went missing over the weekend, while snorkelling in Hermitage Lagoon – a region of the Indian Ocean island popular with tourists for its corals and vibrant wildlife.

He is reported to have been identified by the wedding ring that remained on his finger within the shark, which was caught just over four miles from the lagoon.

The creature was among several caught this week in the Indian Ocean by the Centre de Securite Requin (CSR) for research purposes.

A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We are providing support to the family of a British man who died while snorkelling in La Réunion and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program Show all 15 1 /15 Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program Campaigners in Australia have today released photographs showing sharks in snared in hooks placed as part of the Queensland government’s Shark Control Program HSI/AMCS/N McLachlan Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program Operating in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, the program is intended to reduce the threat of attacks in Queensland’s waters by capturing sharks with nets and drumlines, permanent fishing hooks buoyed off coast HSI/AMCS/N McLachlan Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program A diagram showing the drumlines used by the Queensland government to catch sharks Queensland Government Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) and Humane Society International (HIS) are calling for the immediate removal of the drumlines HSI/AMCS/N McLachlan Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program Though Queensland has seen a decline in fatal attacks since the program launched in 1962, campaigners argue that control measures are not proportional to the threat posed by sharks and lament the program’s devastating effect on certain shark populations HSI/AMCS/N McLachlan Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program For example, nearly 9000 tiger sharks have been caught since the program was launched HSI/AMCS/N McLachlan Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program “Their numbers have dropped by up to three quarters” says Dr Leonardo Guida, senior shark campaigner at Australian Marine Conservation Society HSI/AMCS/N McLachlan Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program Citing the findings of the recent official Australian Shark Report Card, Dr Guida continues “numbers will keep dropping unless we make major improvements to the way they are managed” HSI/AMCS/N McLachlan Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program “The government should not be sanctioning the culling of a species in such perilous decline” HSI/AMCS/N McLachlan Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program The release of this footage comes weeks before the implementation of a law that would make its capture illegal HSI/AMCS/N McLachlan Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program The Queensland Government’s Fisheries Amendment Bill 2018 outlaws being within 20 metres of shark control equipment on the grounds of public safety, but campaigners view it as a way to hide the impact of the Shark Control Program HSI/AMCS/N McLachlan Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program Nicola Beynon, head of campaigns at HIS says “not only does the Queensland Government insist on slaughtering sharks, but it has recently passed legislation making it illegal to document the horror. The public has a right to see true cost of its Shark Control Program” HSI/AMCS/N McLachlan Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program A diagram showing the nets used by the Queensland government to catch sharks Queensland Government Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program Tiger sharks are a particular concern for campaigners HSI/AMCS/N McLachlan Sharks in Great Barrier Reef threatened by government program Tiger sharks are a particular concern for campaigners HSI/AMCS/N McLachlan

Since the beginning of 2011 locals have spoken of a “shark crisis” on the east African island, as the number of shark attacks has sharply increased.

In the last eight years prior to 2019, 24 attacks were reported while 11 of those proved to be fatal.

Half of those attacks involved surfers and bodyboarders.

As a result swimming and surfing has been banned in Réunion – a French overseas territory – since the summer of 2013 – with the acts only permitted in the shallow waters of the island’s lagoons.

French president Emmanuel Macron said last month that he would like to see water sports reintroduced by 2022, but added that he wanted “to be sure” that it would be safe to do so.

So far there have been two confirmed fatal shark attacks in the waters around the tropical island in 2019 – a fisherman whose leg was torn off in January and a surfer who was killed in May.