Traits adapting animals to their natural local environments need to be considered during the development of multi-generational captive rearing programs. In artificial rearing environments unintentional selection may shift naturally balanced polymorphisms in directions that lower fitness in nature. Reproductive traits of concern include age of maturation, return time, spawn time, nest site location, substrate preference, nest construction, nest defense, egg size and fecundity. Salmonid culture tools with the potential to counter these reproductive concerns include spawning channels and sourcing each generation as eyed eggs, parr, or smolts. Survival traits of concern include emergence timing, habitat selection, habitat use, freshwater habitat migration, anadromous migration, foraging behavior, digestive physiology and physiological tolerances (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, etc.). Culture technology using locally adapted temperature profiles, seawater rearing during ocean life history phases, and timing life stage events to match natural profiles may help maintain the natural balance of alternative traits in the cultured population. It is anticipated the use of artificial culture for developing self-sustaining natural populations will be directly tied to its ability to maintain the natural balance of polymorphic traits that adapt the released population to their local environment.