I don't like it, none of the fishermen like it," said Tom Coleman, a Midland Beach resident who fishes every day in Great Kills. "Why should we have to have a license to fish in the ocean?"

Coleman also said the DEC needs to step up enforcement if it insists on creating new regulations.

"There is little or no enforcement already," he said. "So many people keep illegal-size fish. Guys like me obey the law and watch other guys keep everything. DEC needs more people to enforce the rules and laws they already have. They don't need to create new ones."

The state imposed the new license in a response to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's creation of a national saltwater angler registry, Ms. Wren said.

The federal registry -- designed to evaluate the economic impact of saltwater fishing and to keep track of how it affects an ocean's stock -- requires anyone who fishes recreationally in federal ocean waters to be included by Jan. 1 unless they are licensed in their own states.

State officials decided to create their own license to ensure the fees collected would benefit fishing and boating conservation here, Ms. Wren said.

But Staten Island's fishermen question how much money will actually be directed toward the marine community.

"It's going to go into the black hole of the state coffers," said Paul diBenedetto, co-owner of Great Kills Bait and Tackle.

Currently on the waiting list to install the computers needed to print the licenses, diBenedetto fears he will lose business if the equipment doesn't arrive in time.

"If I don't have the immediate ability to give them a license, they're not going to go fishing," he said. "It will put a tremendous dent in my business."