Let’s talk about the Marine Mammal Protection Act. To put it in simple terms, this act protects any marine mammals from you harassing them or feeding them in the wild. Even if you see an animal and it looks like its starving, you can not physical help it. What you can do is look up the local marine mammal rescue center and they can help tend to that animal.
Why would feeding an animal be so bad? Well, over time if those animals get use to humans feeding them, they will become dependent on that food source. If by some chance that source stops, it could cause those animals to then starve to death, since they learned to rely on humans to feed them.
Also, wild animals can become aggressive over food very easily. Especially if others are trying to compete for it. They will have no problem doing whatever it takes to get that food out of our hand before the others.
Additionally, we humans can have all types of bacteria and germs on our hands. By touching them or what they eat, you could be transmitting a disease or more to them that could eventually in worst cases, kill the population off.
Disturbing them, or potentially disturbing them could be considered harassment and land you in trouble. Penalties you could face are fines up to $11,000, forfeiting your vessel if you are on one, and up to a year in prison. The best thing you could do for any wild animal is leave it alone. If it needs help, call one of the recuse organizations.