Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post’s national environmental reporter, has covered a range of issues  from climate change to the 2008 presidential campaign.Her first book, “Fight Club Politics: How Partisanship is Poisoning the House of Representatives” (2006) explored the effects of the partisan divide in Congress.In her recently released second book, “Demon Fish,” Eilperin turns her attention to one of the planet’s most misunderstood — and most threatened creatures — sharks.The 1992 Princeton graduate is married to Atlanta native Andrew Light, whose parents, Ron and Elisabeth Light, live in Chamblee (his brother, Jay, lives in Chastain Park).She recently talked to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  about the lives and geopolitics of sharks.

Q: What was the one thing that you discovered during your reporting that most fascinated you about sharks and the lives they lead?A: I was amazed both by their array of senses — the fact that they can follow the magnetic fields of the Earth to find food and detect the motion of flapping gills of a fish buried in the sand — and the fact that they probably spend more time close to shore than we’ve realized. Now that researchers can track sharks more precisely through radio and satellite transmitters, we understand that we’re swimming in the water with sharks more often than we think.

Q: You titled your book “Demon Fish,” but isn’t one of its central themes the idea that sharks aren’t demonic at all?A: Exactly. I’m trying to unpack the myth of why we think sharks are evil. I first heard the phrase “demon fish” when traveling through New England, when someone remarked to me that local fishermen there blame spiny dogfish when they can’t haul in a big catch. It’s easy to make sweeping generalizations about something you don’t understand, and I’m trying to provide a more nuanced view of sharks.

Q: What is the biggest threat humans pose to sharks?A: It’s difficult to say whether more sharks are killed for their fins, or accidentally when fishing vessels are targeting tuna or swordfish instead. The fin trade kills up to 73million sharks a year, and while tens of millions of sharks likely die each year on gear set for other fish, those numbers aren’t tracked carefully. At this point, the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates as many as a third of all shark species are threatened or near threatened with extinction.

Q: Is there any substantive effort in China to reduce — or ban — the consumption of shark’s fin soup, which you cite as one of the more immediate concerns?A: There is a movement among some Chinese, both in China itself and in several other countries, to stop eating shark’s fin soup. A lawmaker in the National People’s Congress has even introduced legislation banning the trade of shark fins in China. But enacting that sort of legislation — which is what several states in the U.S. are starting to do — may take some time in China.

Q: How difficult is it to change the perception of a creature that was portrayed as a people-eating machine by the book and movie “Jaws”?A: It will take some time to change people’s perceptions of sharks, since “Jaws” left such an indelible impression on Americans and filmgoers around the world. But [author] Peter Benchley emerged as one of the nation’s great conservationists when it came to the ocean, and I think this is a moment where people are beginning to reassess their view of sharks.

Q: What is the one shark you didn’t see during your research for your book that you wish you had?A: I wish I could have seen a school of hammerheads during mating season off Cocos Island in Costa Rica. It’s supposed to be an incredible sight.

Meet the author

Juliet EilperinThe author of “Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks” will speak at the Georgia Aquarium as part of the lecture series “Science on Tap.”6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 28.   $23.95, members; $33.95, nonmembers. Reservations required. Includes drinks and hors d’oeuvres. Ocean Ballroom. 225 Baker St. N.W., Atlanta. 404-581-4000.