SAN DIEGO -- Two men who ventured into a protected seal colony in La Jolla this week to free one of the sea mammals from a fishing net could face civil or criminal sanctions, a federal spokesman said Friday.

The self-appointed rescuers of the seal pup may have violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act when they came to the animal's aid on Tuesday night, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.

"It's a preliminary investigation at this point," said Jim Milbury, a spokesman for the agency.

Milbury declined to name the two men, but news outlets identified them as Steve Eddy of San Diego and Mark Katona of Oceanside.

Eddy and Katona did not know each other when, prompted by news accounts of the sea animal's plight, they independently went to the Children's Pool beach to try to help the animal, which had been tangled in the gill net for days, according to area news outlets.

They slowly crawled up to the seal and, working together, held it down while one of them used scissors to cut off the nylon mesh, which was wrapped tightly around its neck, area news outlets reported.

The men apparently succeeded in rescuing the animal without harming it or other members of its colony, Milbury acknowledged.

Nonetheless, their actions -- while motivated by understandable and humane concern -- had the potential to "do more harm than good," since the men are not experts at handling sea mammals, he said.

The federal marine agency had been working with SeaWorld to come to the animal's aid and had a well-practiced plan of action in the works, according to Milbury.

The organizations were monitoring the situation, awaiting a chance to get to the seal when other members of its colony were far enough away to avoid being scared off from the habitat or otherwise harmed, he said.

The pup's predicament did not appear to be putting it in any imminent physical danger, Milbury said.

"But obviously, we weren't going to wait forever," he added.

An investigator with the federal service interviewed Katona Friday morning, Milbury said. The spokesman said he was unsure if Eddy had been questioned.

The men potentially could be fined if it is determined that they violated the marine-mammal act, which is designed to keep people from harassing seals and other sea creatures, according to Milbury.