Shark cage diving operators say they are not concerned New Zealand First MPs are calling for a moratorium on their practices at Stewart Island.
Clayton Mitchell and Fletcher Tabuteau visited the island last week to meet locals concerned about shark cage diving.
Shark Dive New Zealand owner Peter Scott said he was not bothered by the involvement of politicians.
''Not everybody in the community has got a beef about it,'' he said.
''If they had something serious to put on the table we would look at it. But [Mr Mitchell] is from Tauranga. They had to go that far to find someone that will listen.''
Shark Experience operator Mike Haines said he was also unconcerned about the involvement of the MPs.
''At the end of the day they are trying to pick up brownie points and ... they won't get my vote,'' he said.
Mr Mitchell, New Zealand First's labour and industrial relations spokesman, called for a moratorium on shark cage diving to allow for research to assess the dangers of the practice.
''Stewart Island locals are coming out in numbers to agree,'' he said earlier this week.
''Stewart Islanders know shark behaviour has changed since shark dive operators arrived in their area and they feel increasingly unsafe in their own waters.
''This has not been alleviated by new shark dive regulations set by the Department of Conservation.''
However, Department of Conservation southern islands conservation services manager Brent Beaven said the regulations had to be given enough time to see if they worked.
''We have looked at this really carefully and we think these controls address those concerns,'' he said.
''I think it's a bit early to say whether it's working or not.
''They have basically two years to prove their operations are better and those impacts aren't happening any more.''
Mr Beaven said he understood Stewart Island residents were concerned great white sharks were being ''trained'' by the operators but the new regulations should address any change in behaviour which might be taking place.
The permits, which came with strict restrictions, allowed the holders to operate for two years but would be reviewed after 12 months.
Conditions included banning feeding the sharks and using decoys, controls on commercial filming and restricting the practice to Edwards Island.
Doc monitors spent two days on board with the operators last week.
They were happy with what they saw, Mr Beaven said.
PauaMac5 chairman Storm Stanley said paua divers remained too frightened to dive in the waters off Stewart Island because of shark cage divers.
''You have got a bunch of wound-up white pointers approaching all the boats in the area, looking for a feed,'' he said.
''The vast majority of guys won't be working in the Muttonbird Islands during the peak of the harvesting season.''
He was still calling for an end to shark cage diving and was ''very disappointed Doc issued those permits''.
Stewart Island resident Jessica Kany, who is opposed to shark cage diving, said about 120 people had attended meetings held by New Zealand First to voice their concerns.
There was a mood of frustration among some residents and they hoped political weight might see an end to the practice.
''It's not about hysteria. It's a real problem,'' Ms Kany said.
''This is a unique situation. We have got a whole community of people living here and we have got shark cage diving occurring 3.8 miles from where we live and use the water.''
At the meetings, several residents described their encounters with great white sharks, which were becoming more frequent and hair-raising, she said.
Mr Scott said the ''tensions are fairly high'' between operators and residents, but some residents were happy Shark Dive NZ was there.
''One lady told me the other day that if we pulled out of here she's pretty much finished because she survives on the business we bring in,'' he said.
''Some of those with businesses are quite happy to see us here.''
He, and Mr Haines, remained anxious the practice might be stopped but ''we aren't going to go without a fight''.
