Day one opened with a workshop by Fishtrans on the practical implementation of electronic transport waybills. The discussion on fish and seafood logistics continued at the roundtable "Unbroken Cold Chain: International Logistics of Fishery Products", held in cooperation with the Association of Food Sector Organizations (ASORPS) and the International Coordinating Council on Trans-Eurasian Transportation (CCTT). Participants examined the main challenges facing cold-chain operators amid shifting geopolitical conditions and shared practical solutions.

Building on the theme of cross-border seafood transport, the first day's international agenda covered new supply chains to BRICS+ markets, cooperation within the FAO framework and partnerships with countries in the Caspian region.

On the sidelines of the Forum, Ilya Shestakov, Head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries, held working meetings with Turgay Türkyılmaz, Director General of Fisheries and Aquaculture at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Türkiye, and Javier Francisco Aguiar Rodríguez, First Deputy Minister of the Food Industry of the Republic of Cuba.

Technology was also high on the agenda. The day began with the roundtable "Digitalization in Fisheries: A Tool for Business and Regulation", organised with the Centre for Fisheries Monitoring and Communications. Another roundtable, "Innovations in Fish Processing: Equipment, Packaging, and Ingredients", focused on modern solutions for producing functional foods and value-added fish products. 

Advanced aquaculture technologies were presented at "Current Technologies and Services for Cage Fish Farms: From Equipment Selection to Efficient Operation", part of the Aqua Farm Global programme. 

The youth programme was a major focus on the first day of the Forum and Exhibition. The FISHERY SKILLS Youth Forum opened with the roundtable "From Classroom to Workplace: How to Retain Graduates in the Industry". It continued with the panel session "Dive Into the Industry! Opportunities for Russian Youth in the Fisheries Sector" and the project session "Enabling Technological Leadership in the Industry: From Young Researchers' Ideas to Market Implementation".At the final of the 2nd All-Russian Youth Biohackathon "FARWATER 2026: From Aquatic Bioresources to the Bioeconomy", this year's winners were announced.Day one of the business programme concluded with a presentation of the FishStat.ru digital ecosystem for online B2B fish trading and the FishChat mobile app.

The Main Arena also hosted the Awards Ceremony for the Winners of the All-Russian "Professionals" Competition in Fisheries Competencies, followed by the signing of several agreements:

1. cooperation agreements between the Alliance of Business Structures and Entrepreneurs of Southeast Asia (B2BASEAN) and:

• EuroSib SPb-TS JSC;
• the Guild of Builders;

2. a strategic partnership agreement between the Federal Agency for Fisheries and the All-Russian Youth Public Organisation "Russian Student Teams".

Event partners and sponsors: Rosselkhozbank JSC (General Sponsor), Fishery Shipowners Association (Business Programme Partner), Moreodor LLC (Registration Zone Partner), FishStat LLC (Digital Partner), ANTEY Group (Football Match Partner), PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel (Partner), Sberbank PJSC (Partner), Murman LLC (Partner), MELKOM Group JSC (General Partner of Aqua Farm Global), Fish Feed JSC (Official Partner of Aqua Farm Global), VALCOM LLC (Official Partner of Ship Tech Global), Nautic Rus LLC (Partner of Ship Tech Global), and the All-Russian Association of Fisheries Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters (VARPE) (Industry Partner of the Exhibition).