According to the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, it can take a shark several days to fully digest a meal, but during that process their stomach “produces an acid that is strong enough to dissolve metal”.

Ms Sass said: “Colleen’s body was identifiable. Her fingerprints (again identifiable) are being used by our US embassy and the local government for proof of death. This would not be possible if the shark had attacked her weeks ago.

“Colleen’s husband said she would [have] been heartsick to know a shark died because of her and that her death is giving sharks, once again, a bad name.”

Brendon Sing, a researcher and founder of Shark Guardian, said: “Sharks rarely would attack and kill an adult human being. Tiger sharks, especially, are often scavengers and prey on animals or species that are already dead, injured or weakened in some way.”