Conservation of fisheries in Bangladesh has become heavy-handed and militarized while poverty in fishing communities remains unmitigated. Early on the night of March 16, 2021, police opened fire on a small fishing boat and killed a young fisher named Mohammad Masud in the Meghna River. The shots were fired in the river north of Chandpur, the town famous for its well-known trading centre of ilish (hilsa), Bangladesh’s most prized fish. It was reported that Masud, 24, went fishing with some others during a seasonal ban imposed by the government to protect juvenile fish. The police said they opened fire in self-defence after the fishers threw brick chips and attacked the police with sticks. When a journalist visited the deceased Masud’s house, his family did not have even a “handful of rice” to feed themselves.