A fisherman returns to the land along the Yinshan Section of the Poyang Lake in Duchang County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Jan. 6, 2012. There are few fish nowadays in the lake's Xingzi and Yinshan sections in the Duchang County, and 120,000 residents in the county are even in the struggle for tackling drinking water shortage. The lake's water level monitored by the Hydrometric Station of Duchang County on Jan. 6 stood at a record low of 7.95 meters, 0.04 meters lower than the previous record low in 2009. Figures also showed that the surface area of the Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake, has shrunk to less than 200 square kilometers. Persistent drought caused by lack of rainfall in the lake area and in the upper reaches of its tributaries is blamed for the lake's shrinkage, according to local authorities.