Many floodplains have been compartmentalized to give more control over water for rice growing. This in turn has restricted access to fish, which would normally contribute significantly to resources available to poor communities. Sluice gates are used to control water in the compartments. An improved regime for the operation of sluice gates, for the mutual benefits of fish and rice is devised for Bangladesh and described as a guideline. This method can be replicated in other modified floodplains. It is important to involve the farmers in this regime and ensure that decisions are made by common agreement. In some areas this might be more difficult to achieve than in others.