On July 14, several dates coincide: France celebrates Bastille Day, the world marks Shark Awareness Day and International Non-Binary People's Day, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church according to the new calendar honors Apostle Aquila. But it is the shark this year that gives the sharpest reason for a conversation about the real and the imagined.
A predator feared for the wrong reasons
Every year, humans kill approximately 100 million sharks — for fins, meat, oil, and as bycatch in industrial fishing. About 73 million of these deaths are linked solely to the trade in shark fins. Meanwhile, the number of unprovoked shark attacks on humans worldwide remains negligible — only a few dozen per year.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies more than 300 species of sharks and rays as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered. Sharks have existed in the oceans for hundreds of millions of years — they are older than dinosaurs and trees. As apex predators, they regulate fish populations and maintain the balance of marine ecosystems. Their disappearance would mean a cascading collapse for the entire food chain.
«Sharks are far more threatened by human activity than humans are threatened by sharks».
— Shark Awareness Day, international educational initiative
The paradox is that fear of sharks — one of the most powerful cultural reflexes shaped by cinema since the 1975 film "Jaws" — has allowed the fishing industry to kill them for decades without public outrage.
The Bastille: a celebration that began in blood
On July 14, 1789, a mob stormed the Parisian fortress-prison the Bastille — and freed only seven prisoners. Yet the symbolic significance of the event proved incomparably greater than its practical result: it became the starting point of the French Revolution and the end of the Ancien Régime.
France has officially celebrated this date since 1880. Every year, Europe's oldest and largest military parade takes place on the Champs-Élysées. In 2025, celebrations are taking place in Paris and throughout the country.
Non-Binary People's Day: a week, not just one day
International Non-Binary People's Day is observed on July 14 every year, but in 2025 it has expanded: Non-Binary Awareness Week runs from July 14 to 20. The date was chosen symbolically — exactly halfway between International Men's Day (November 19) and International Women's Day (March 8).
Apostle Aquila in Ukraine
According to the new church calendar, which the Ukrainian Orthodox Church adopted after abandoning the Julian style, July 14 is the day of Apostle Aquila, a disciple and companion of Apostle Paul, mentioned in the epistles to the Romans and Corinthians.
If the number of shark species threatened with extinction continues to grow at current rates — will one day a year be enough to change what has been built over decades of industrial lobbying?
