Ian Redmond, 30, from Lancashire, was on honeymoon when the attack happened off Anse Lazio beach on Praslin, the second largest island in the Indian Ocean archipelago.
One onlooker said she saw the victim's wife saying she "still had hope" for her husband while he lay on the beach with horrific injuries.
But police spokesman Jean Toussaint said Mr Redmond had been "badly injured" on the hips and lost an arm in the attack, which occurred while he was swimming in the early evening.
"We haven't got the autopsy report yet but he definitely lost a lot of blood. He had no chance of surviving because of the nature of the injuries," he added.
Earlier this month a 36-year-old French tourist was killed by a shark in the same area. Government officials have issued a ban on swimming in certain areas until the shark is captured.
Jeanne Vargiolu, 56, owner of a nearby restaurant, said she went to the beach after hearing ambulance sirens to find a French doctor treating the man and "a lot of police officers" surrounding him.
She said police told her the man had lost one arm, had a badly damaged leg and holes in his chest and stomach from shark bites. She added: "They were trying to help him but they could not get him alive."
Mr Toussaint confirmed that Mr Redmond and his wife were in the second week of their honeymoon and had been due to fly home on Sunday.
He said "a big effort" is now under way to catch the shark. "We had this first incident two weeks ago and for the local community it was a freak incident because it had never been reported before around the islands. It took everybody by surprise," he added.
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